Gujarat: WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus gets a new name, 'Tulsibhai'

PM Narendra Modi gave WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus a 'pucca' Gujarati name at his request-Tulsibhai.

"When he met me this morning, he said he has become a 'pucca' Gujarati. He asked me to give him a Gujarati name. He reminded me on the stage whether I had decided a name for him. In this pious land of Mahatma Gandhi, and as a Gujarati, I would call my best friend Tulsibhai," the Prime Minister said on Wednesday after inaugurating a three-day Global Ayush Investment and Innovation Summit in Gandhinagar, where the WHO chief was among the dignitaries.

Modi said Ghebreyesus-the first Ethiopian and African to head WHO-has told him how much he loves India and about his Indian-origin teachers from his childhood.

He explained why he chose to name the 57-year-old public health expert after the medicinal plant Tulsi or the holy basil (Ocimum tenuiflorum). He said the Tulsi plant has been integral to India's spiritual heritage and noted that there is a Tulsi Vivah festival as well, held around Diwali. And the "bhai" suffix, he said, is a must for a Gujarati man.

PM Modi said he is delighted by Tulsibhai's affection for Gujarat, his attempt to speak Gujarati, and his respect for his Indian teachers.