Referring to astronaut Sunita Williams as “the pride of Gujarat” for the first time ever, Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday recalled his association with her late cousin Haren Pandya and a meeting with a much younger Sunita.Felicitating the visiting astronaut for her achievements at a function here, Modi said Gujarat had pride of place in the world of space science thanks to Sunita’s achievement, and that should act as inspiration for the youth in the state. “The Government understands Sunita is the pride of Gujarat. Youngsters should take her as their role model and emulate her achievements. For this I would ask her to come to the state regularly and meet students and guide them with her knowledge,” Modi said at the function. Recalling his old association with the family of Haren Pandya, Modi said he happened to meet Sunita with her sister Beena for the first time when they were introduced to him by their cousin. “Her visit to Gujarat must be a joyful experience for her. I remember meeting Neil Armstrong who told me that when he went to the moon he was an astronaut, but after returning he became a human being,” Modi added. At the function, the dais was shared by State Education Minister Anandiben Patel who referred to Sunita as “a great woman and Gujarat’s and world’s pride”.Sunita, in her address, emphasised the value of basic science in making complex astronomical science and space odysseys possible. “No matter where you look and at what time, you will always see the thin blue line separating Earth from the vast black universe filled with tiny dots of glimmering stars,” she said.
