Teacher's Day: My clothes are simple, not made by designers, says PM Narendra Modi

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose dressing style and dapper appearance have often drawn attention, today said he does not have a fashion designer for his outfits, including the signature short-sleeved kurta.

"It is just rumours that I have a fashion designer. I only dress simple," Modi told a student who complimented him on his "unique sense of dressing" and described him as "brand ambassador for Indian clothing" during an interaction with school children on the eve of Teachers' Day.

The student also asked, "Modi kurta has become so very popular. What do you have to say about it?"

"I come from a humble background...the weather in Gujarat is not that cold. So I wore kurta-pyjama. I had to wash my own clothes and full sleeves took more time to clean. So I cut off the sleeves and made it the sleeveless kurta. It made my work easier so I started wearing short-sleeves," Modi said with a smile.

The outfit is popularly known as 'Modi-Kurta' now and has found many connoisseurs especially in the ruling party.

64-year-old Modi also had some tips for the young people. "I always made it a point to look tidy. I didn't have money to get my clothes ironed, so I ironed my kurta with charcoal in a lota (pot)," he said.

The Prime Minister also said that to whiten his shoes, he took chalk sticks from his school.

"After the class, I collected chalks and whitened my canvas shoes with that. This is all I did. I have no fashion designer. But yes, we should be tidy and dress according to occasion," he said.

Modi was interacting with students across India for Teachers' Day, which is celebrated on September 5 to mark the birth anniversary of India's second president and scholar Dr S Radhakrishnan.

The Prime Minister has often received praise for his dapper appearance especially when abroad, be it formal attire of bandhgala jacket or his signature kurta-churidar.

However, he had drawn much flak for wearing monogrammed pinstripe suit during the visit of US President Barack Obama in January, with his critics calling him "megalomaniac".