Ahmedabad: "Earlier, it was love at first sight… Today it is love at website," was how Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi described the encompassing of Information Technology (IT), particularly the Internet in the daily lives of people.

Speaking at the inaugural session of 'Calibre 2003', a three-day conference of librarians on "Mapping Technologies for Libraries and People" in Ahmedabad on February 13 night, Modi expressed his penchant for the Internet in a speech that was a combination of witty one liners about IT and sarcastic mention of "secularism".

"I have always wondered why mouse is called so in computer jargon… It (mouse) is the vehicle of Lord Ganesh, who symbolised knowledge. But had computer been invented in India, it would never have been called a mouse… Why? Because we are a secular nation," he remarked.

Narrating an anecdote, he said, "I was once asked by an interpreter in West Indies whether snake charmers still exist in India. My reply was that India has lost a bit of calibre… We do have snake charmers, but there are a large number of 'mouse charmers' (IT professionals) in our country!"

"I was never an academically brilliant student…we depended on guides during our times," Modi, a regular Internet surfer, said adding "Today also I use IT as a guide to get bits of information about some subjects."

PTI