Atal Bihari Vajpayee birth anniversary: Facts on the former PM to share with kids

Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s contributions go beyond his stint as Prime Minister of the country. He will also be remembered for being a great poet and orator.

Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee (Source: File photo)

Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was a great orator and poet, respected beyond party lines. We’ve put together some interesting facts about the late statesman for the younger generation.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s contributions go beyond his stint as Prime Minister of the country. He will also be remembered for being a great poet and orator, apart from his secular views that garnered the attention of all. If your child is yet to know who the great leader was, here are some interesting facts about him that you can share on the occasion of his birth anniversary:

* Atal Bihari Vajpayee was born on December 25, 1924, to Krishna Devi and Krishna Bihari Vajpayee, in Gwalior. He studied at Saraswati Shishu Mandir, followed by Victoria’s College (now Laxmi Bai College), where he graduated with distinction in Hindi, English and Sanskrit.

Vajpayee studied law at DAV College, Kanpur. Interestingly, his father, a poet and teacher, also expressed his desire to study law. The father-son duo was admitted to the same class and also shared a room in the same hostel. It was only when students started talking about them that the father and son were placed in different sections.

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* Vajapayee served as Prime Minister of India for three non-consecutive terms between 1996 and 2004. He lasted for only 13 days during his first stint. He was also the first non-Congress Prime Minister to serve a full five-year term from 1998 to 2004.

* He was the first person to give a speech in Hindi at the UN General Assembly in 1977. He served as India’s Minister of External Affairs at that time.

* Vajpayee was known for his oratory skills and poetry. He wrote a lot of poems in Hindi which became quite popular among masses like Aao phir se diya jalaaen, and Kaurav kaun, kaun Pandav, among others.

* The former Prime Minister was known to have been a good cook. While serving time in prison during the Emergency, he reportedly became the “head cook”. He loved to eat. Malpua, khichdi and kheer were among his favourite dishes apart from fish and Chinese cuisine.

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* Vajpayee’s favourite leader was Jawaharlal Nehru. His favourite authors were Sarat Chandra Bose and Premchand. He drew inspiration from poets, including Harivansh Rai Bachchan, Ramnath Awasthi, Dr Shiv Mangal Singh Suman, Surya Kanth Tripathi ‘Nirala’, Bal Krishna Sharma Naveen, Jagannath Prasad Milind and Faiz Ahmed Faiz.

* Lata Mangeshkhar, Mukesh and Mohammad Rafi were his favourite singers.

The former Prime Minister participated in the Quit India Movement of 1942-45.

* In 2015, Vajpayee received Bharat Ratna, the country’s highest civilian honour from then President Pranab Mukherjee.

* Vajpayee did not marry all his life. He, however, adopted a daughter named Namita Bhattacharya.

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* During an official trip to US, Vajpayee visited Disneyland after official engagements. The former Prime Minister, then 69 years old, tried out ride after ride at the destination. “We stood in the queues for each and every ride. I don’t think I have ever seen him in such a jolly mood,” Vajpayee’s aide Shiv Kumar had told Outlook magazine.

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