Patna: The poet-statesman that he was, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, 93, who passed away on Thursday, is remembered here not just as a politician but also as a good, humble human being and a foodie with a sweet tooth, who liked his drinks and loved watching movies.
Some of the people who had met him shared their memories about the stalwart BJP leader, who was thrice Prime Minister in non-consecutive terms between 1996 and 2004.
"Vajpayee ji was a magnanimous person and an organiser. He would never impose his high stature over any junior party worker. He was a very sensitive person and would make them comfortable while interacting with them. He would immediately praise any good thing that he would notice to boost their morale. His measured gestures would add further weight to his words. This was his style," said senior BJP leader Kiran Ghai, who had met him several times.
As a devoted party leader, Vajpayee visited Patna and other parts of Bihar many times during his political career for public and party meetings. What set him apart from the leaders of his era was his love for good food - vegetarian as well as non-vegetarian.
"I remember his love for jalebis during one of his Patna visits. He ate a large number of jalebis. He would not hesitate in trying new dishes, and would definitely eat those things that doctors would ask not to," Ghai said.
Talking to The Telegraph over phone from New Delhi, former state minister Sukhada Pandey, who worked as a junior with Vajpayee, remembered him as a leader who would find time to enjoy life despite his busy schedule. "My husband, Nishantketu, and Vajpayee ji were like friends. Whenever my husband was in Delhi, he would call him. Once in the 1980s, they went to watch the Hindi movie Ek Duje Ke Liye in the evening. After coming out of the theatre, Vajpayee ji took him to a shop at Chandni Chowk to drink thickened milk and then moved to a betel shop to chew paan," Pandey said.
Patna-based doctor Pragati Sinha, whose father Digvijay Narayan Singh (an MP from 1952 to 1979) was a fast friend of Vajpayee, remembered how the lively BJP leader would relish sweets from Varanasi, including tiranga barfi, lal peda, hot gulab jamun and laddoos made in pure ghee.
"We used to address him (Vajpayee) as Atal chacha. He would indulge whole-heartedly in talking, light banter, reciting poems and listening to them. He would also sing nicely. His style was of a shayar," Sinha said.
Another person who knew Vajpayee well remembered how they all were in Guwahati in Assam for some work and were residing in a state guest house on the banks of the Brahmaputra in the late-1980s, when he (Vajpayee) started enquiring about the varieties of fish in the river.
"And lo! Soon he got some fish caught and had it cooked for dinner. He always enjoyed fish. He also loved drinking good whisky, especially Scotch, which he would down with cashews and tandoori dishes. He also liked prawns," the person said on the condition of anonymity.
However, Vajpayee would relish vegetarian food equally whenever staying with vegetarian families, especially that of Ganga Prasad, who is presently the Meghalaya Governor.
"Vajpayee ji did not like staying in hotels and would stay at our home during his Patna visits and relish vegetarian curry during dinners. I was a kid at that time and my father would ask me to massage his (Vajpayee's) feet in the evening. Ours was a family relation," said Prasad's son, Sanjeev Chaurasia.
RJD leader Rabri Devi was Bihar chief minister when Vajpayee was the Prime Minister. She remembered how she would have to visit the airport whenever he would be visiting Patna. "He would always ask me about my children, taking their names and asking what they were doing," Rabri, a mother of nine, said, highlighting the human aspect of the BJP leader.
