A Tribute to Atalji

May the songs linger 

Atal Bihari Vajpayee (25 Dec. 1924-16 Dec. 2018)

Atalji  breathed his last on 16 August afternoon in Delhi, when the sky was overcast with dark clouds in Dhenkanal, a small central Odisha town, where I live. The Television channels and news-sites on web were constantly playing programmes on Vajpayee. Since noon- everybody knew it was just matter of time before the announcement was made. He was 93 and was critically ill for last so many days. A pal of gloom enveloped the small town in which I live. The market wore a deserted look. People were glued to television sets wearing sad countenance. Discussions at the town squares, offices and tea shops revolved round the man, whom everybody loved and respected.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee was one of the most popular and respected Prime Ministers of India. He served as the Prime Minister of India thrice, first for a term of 13 days in 1996, for a period of eleven months from 1998 to 1999, and then for a full term from 1999 to 2004. One can feel the respect and love he commanded from people from the fact that he had retreated from active public life over the last decade following the deterioration of his health and had remained restricted to his residence, but people remembered his works and words. During his second term as prime minister, Vajpayee ordered nuclear tests in May 1998 in a strategic masterstroke to blunt Pakistan’s nuclear ambitions. He followed this up with peace overtures to Pakistan, riding on the first direct bus from India to Pakistan in February 1999. His was a liberal voice in the increasingly polarised political environment. His poetry and oratory was balm for ears and hearts. He was the people’s Prime Minister in true spirit. 

In one of his poems he says, 

kaal ke kapal par likhta-mitatha hun

geeth naya gaatha hun, geeth naya gaata hun

(I am writing and erasing new songs on the forehead of time and singing new songs)

May the songs linger and continue to energize the nation.