India Today: Shaped by the Visionary Ideas of Atal Bihari Vajpayee
I have a vivid memory of a gleeful and beaming laugh of the great statesman and leader, former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who was born on this day in 1924 in Gwalior. An affable personality, Vajpayee would express his love for Mithila’s Rohu and his appreciation for Maithili language. As renowned he was for his eloquence and poetry, his presence would draw the masses as well as reassure those in high offices. His poem ‘Kadam mila ke chalna hoga’ symbolised his approach in life about collaborative endeavours for nation building. His poems would often describe India as a nation of cultural pluralism and synthesis.

