On PM Modi's birthday, a look back at how other world leaders spent their happy returns in 2017

Prime Minister Narendra Modi turned 67 today. And as BJP national president Amit Shah said in a blog post, today was all about "work as usual" for the chief executive, who was in Gujarat for the second time in a week.

After calling on his mother Heeraben in the morning, Narendra Modi travelled to Kevadia in Narmada district to dedicate the second largest dam in the world to his compatriots. He returned to Delhi in the evening to pay respects to the late Arjan Singh, the Marshal of the Indian Air Force and the doyen of India's military forces, who died last evening. Modi's party celebrated his birthday as Sewa Divas, or a 'day of service.'

"Ever since I have known him, Narendra bhai has never celebrated his birthday," party chief Amit Shah wrote in his blog.

The same can't be said of all of his colleagues on the international stage. Let's take a look at how some of them spent their happy returns in 2017.

ASHRAF GHANI, PRESIDENT OF AFGHANISTAN, MAY 19

On Ghani's birthday, Afghanistan's Presidential Palace announced the imminent launch of a concerted international effort to bring the war in his country to an end. The initiative, called the 'Kabul Process,' wouldn't be merely "ceremonial," the palace quoted Ghani as saying. It was launched on June 6.

Among the well-wishers who sent him birthday greetings that day, was none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "Bahut dhanyavaad, mere dost," Ghani tweeted back.

A year earlier, Modi had famously wished him a happy birthday on the wrong date, in February. On Ghani's actual birthday, the PM ended his greeting with: "...got the date right this time :)"

DONALD TRUMP, US PRESIDENT, JUNE 14

On his birthday, the US President had a simple message for his millions of Twitter followers - a laconic echo of the overarching theme of his election campaign: Make America Great Again.

Today is my birthday. My wish is for our country to be great and prosperous again.- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 14, 2012

Scores of Americans tweeted cheerfully back, inundating their commander-in-chief's notifications tab with wishes. First Lady Melania joined the chorus, tweeting this aureate, uber-presidential greeting card.

????????º?? pic.twitter.com/TKGtMA4YnN- Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) June 15, 2017

Far away in New Delhi, a right-wing Hindu group which considered Trump to be the "saviour of humanity" was gearing up to throw a party in his honour. A photograph taken at the 2016 edition of the bash shows a man feeding a slice of (a three-tier) cake to a life-size picture of Trump.

But it wasn't all good news and over-the-top flattery. The Washington Post published a report that day which said investigators probing Russia's alleged meddling in the 2016 polls, were trying to determine whether Trump was guilty of obstructing justice.

XI JINPING, PRESIDENT OF CHINA, JUNE 15

This year, Xi Jinping's birthday came a day before his nation set off a chain of events that resulted in a tense weeks-long military standoff with India, which ended just before a crucial BRICS meeting in Beijing. A day before, Xi, a football aficionado, had caught up with FIFA chief Gianni Infantino in the Great Hall of People, a public building in Beijing. In fact, reports in the Nikkei Asian Review and Leicester Post said Xi told Infantino that China wanted to host a men's World Cup in the not-so-distant future.

And what about the birthday itself? Well, it turns out that Prime Minister Modi was involved in what could well be the most interesting story from that day! Many Chinese netizens, who are denied online access to personal information about their leaders, had no idea that Xi was celebrating his birthday, a report said. So imagine their surprise when they saw India's prime minister tell Xi in a post on Sina Weibo that he wished the Chinese leader would live "a hundred years."

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER US PRESIDENT, AUGUST 4

For the first time in almost nine years, Barack Obama celebrated a birthday unfettered by the pressures of high office. So where did he choose to go? A Newsweek report quoted a airport official at a well-known island holiday destination in Massachusetts as saying the Obamas would be "coming in." But that was all she would reveal.

The two-term president's wife, Michelle Obama, had a special message for him.

Another year older, but the same phenomenal guy I married nearly 25 years ago. Happy birthday, @BarackObama -- we love you so much! pic.twitter.com/3WrcGiKgz1- Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) August 4, 2017