Bhind (Madhya Pradesh): On the occasion of Bharat Ratna and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's birth anniversary, ETV Bharat went down the memory lane and reminisced Vajpayee's journey speaking to his close friends and party members. Former PM Vajpayee began his journey as he moved to Madhya Pradesh's Bhind for his schooling when he was eight-year-old.
Vajpayee's charm created his bond with his landlord's son Chhote Lal Mishra. In a conversation with ETV Bharat, Chhote Lal Mishra's grandson, Rahul Mishra said, "I always remember Atal Bihariji and his friendly nature. He came to stay here twice, but we never asked him for rent. He was then studying at the Urban Estate Boys School, which is now a government girls' school."
As Vajpayee moved to Gwalior for further studies, the house he stayed was kept vacant and today the house was in a dilapidated condition. Rahul said that he and his family are planning to renovate the house and convert it into a museum so that they can keep the memories of Vajpayee alive and also pass on his memories to the next generation. Vajpayee during his education in Gohad also learnt wrestling and he also held a meeting at the bus stand area when he returned to Gohad after he became a politician.
During his first visit to Gohad as a politician, he was warmly welcomed by the people and he was presented with a garland made of Batasha (sweet) made by his friend Gani Badshah. Vajpayee's simplicity had always wooed people and they appreciated it when he called his childhood friends, including Gani Badshah and Dwarka Prasad Soni, for his swearing-in ceremony as the Prime Minister.
As Vajpayee and his childhood friends have left the world, Kishori Lal Bandil, the BJP leader in a conversation with ETV Bharat highlights one of his many funny incidents. Bandil said that he, along with Vajpayee attended Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia's 60th birthday celebrations and Rajmata Scindia said that she wanted to quit politics and everyone present at the party kept mum and when nobody knew what to say, Vajpayee broke the silence and said in his funny tone, 'Satha so Patha', which means "youth sets in as one reaches sixty."
Everyone at the party, along with Rajmata Scindia, broke into tears of laughter. Bandil said that Vajpayee is no more in the world, but these incidents and the work he has done for the country will never let him die from the people's hearts. In an attempt to glorify his achievements and to keep him alive in people's memory, actor Pankaj Tripathi is playing the role of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in the biopic 'Main Atal Hoon'.
The first look of the movie shows Tripathi dressed in the Indian attire of kurta and dhoti and shows many sides of Atal Bihari Vajpayee as a poet, a statesman, a leader and a humanitarian. The film is being helmed by National Award-winning director Ravi Jadhav and written by Utkarsh Naithani with music composed by Salim-Sulaiman and lyrics by Sameer, while Sonu Nigam has rendered vocals for the motion video announcement. The film will be released on his next birth anniversary, on December 25, 2023.
