Sagarika Ghose’s book on Atal Bihari Vajpayee gives a glimpse into the lesser known aspects of his life
The Hindu
At the launch in Chennai, the author says Vajpayee was very much rooted in the cohort of well spoken parliamentarians of the 1950s and 60s
Atal Bihari Vajpayee was said to be an incredibly funny man. The whisky-drinking, meat-eating, Rastriya Swayamsevak Sangh member and former Prime Minister of India was always armed with a quiver of witty one-liners: from Bollywood inspired lines such as Mere Angne MainTumhara Kya Kam Hai,to verses he penned himself. And he led an unconventional personal life, but unlike many others, never shied away from acknowledging it. Be it his odd relationship with his father — who joined college at the same time as Vajpayee and were ideologically opposed to each other — or his companionship with Rajkumari Kaul, with whose family he had an uncustomary living arrangement.
“He was almost bohemian in his personal life,” says journalist, news anchor, and author Sagarika Ghose, who’s latest biography Atal Bihari Vajpayee - India’s Most Loved Prime Minister gives an in depth look into the life and times of the erudite statesman, along with some of his poems.
At an event organised by The Duchesss Club in Chennai today, the book was launched, with Mukund Padmanabhan (former Editor of The Hindu and guest of honour for the day) receiving the first copy. Sagarika was in conversation with Rupa Ramamurthy, a member of the Club, as they discussed excerpts from the book.
In 2011, the Karnataka government announced that five botanical gardens will be developed on the lines of the Lalbagh Botanical Garden in Bengaluru across the State. But according to the latest developments, there will only be four such gardens as the Horticulture Department is most likely to drop the project that was supposed to come up in Chikkaballapura district.