Published 12:10 IST, September 7th 2019
ISRO chief K Sivan's tears & PM Modi's hug make netizens emotional
After a pep talk to scientists, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday gave a long and tight hug to an emotional ISRO chief K Sivan, who was in tears.
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After a pep talk to scientists, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday gave a long and tight hug to an emotional ISRO chief K Sivan, who was in tears, unable to come to terms over lander Vikram's unsuccessful bid to soft-land on the moon. Modi, in his address at the ISRO centre here, asked the scientists not to get disheartened by the hurdles in the lunar mission Chandrayaan-2 and asserted that there will be "new dawn".
No sooner than the Prime Minister concluded his address, Sivan accompanied him to see him off. At this juncture, the Prime Minister, who was on his way to get into his car, gave him a "reassuring" and tight hug, lending his shoulder to teary-eyed Sivan. The Prime Minister embraced Sivan as he made no secret of his deep disappointment as the ambitious venture did not pan out as intended. Modi also said in his address that the country's determination to land on the moon has become even stronger.
Just as the video of Modi hugging K Sivan went viral, true sentiments of common people started pouring on social media. One user wrote: "Heartwarming gesture by PM Modi to console Dr Sivan. This is how an "unseen hurdle" (not a failure in any sense) should be dealt with...With Understanding and Empathy being the torch bearers in the times of crises!" [sic], while the other said: "This is heartbreaking, The best ever hug" [sic]. Here are some tweets -
A gesture worth praise and respect! This is true leadership spirit or should we say, humanity: consoling people when they break down emotionally!
— Karan Kapila (@KaranKapila) September 7, 2019
It is still a success and we are all proud of you, Sir K. Sivan! 😎 #SuchAnEmotionalMoment#ISRO #ISROMissions #Chandrayaan2 pic.twitter.com/w3JhwkIzcl
Scientists are the simplest and the most humble people in general and they do work day and night to research. When you talk to them, they talk only to the point and no bakwas.
— Ruby Tyagi (@RuTyagi) September 7, 2019
Child-like expression of emotions by the Chief. Strong and compassionate leadership by the PM.#ISRO https://t.co/wS6BcXobnt
Moon is 3,84,400 kms and we failed at 2.1 KM
— Prasannakumar🙏✌️🇮🇳 (@PrasannaPatil28) September 7, 2019
that's 0.0005463% of margin.
Even this failure is a foundation for new beginnings.
Even this failure has a taste of success in it.
Kudos to our Scientists and #ISRO 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/p8Q0459nRB
That #ISRO Chief Shivan broke down into tears only shows how invested he was in success of the mission. 🙏 pic.twitter.com/uGAAnp7fgU
— Gaurav Pandya (@GauravP13845877) September 7, 2019
I have Proud to #ISRO Jai hind Jai Bharat pic.twitter.com/sMP5g8qY3H
— 🇮🇳 Ajay Prajapati 🇮🇳 (@AjayPra00200727) September 7, 2019
very emotional moment ...we are proud of you #ISRO https://t.co/pGWytuLqen
— Prakriti kanodia (@Thisisprakriti) September 7, 2019
No words for this moment,well fone #ISRO we are proud of u pic.twitter.com/UhcvjLoafw
— Suman Soni (@SumanSonivds) September 7, 2019
#ISRO
— Mayank Singh🇮🇳 (@georgian_mayank) September 7, 2019
In our first attempt itself we achieved 95% success. Amazing #ISRO. You are the best!
When we have a PM like this who motivates and encourages nothing is impossible. We will achieve the highest success much earlier than other nations. pic.twitter.com/wrEYPmRZbs
"We came very close, but we need to cover more ground.... Learnings from today will make us stronger and better," he told the scientists, adding, "The best is yet to come in our space programme. India is with you." Earlier, Sivan, who his colleagues say is a task-master but a simple and genial individual, announced -- his voice choking -- that the lander had lost communication with the ground stations, and the data is being analysed.
The Prime Minister was present at the ISRO centre to witness the touch-down early Saturday and returned less than six hours later to address scientists and the nation at 8 am. The soft landing of lander Vikram did not go according to ISRO's plan as it lost contact with the ground station.
(With PTI inputs)
11:58 IST, September 7th 2019