A temple in his name, a town that worships him
In Gwalior, the city where late former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was born and brought up, his admirers had constructed a temple for him in 2005.
The temple, constructed at Satyanarayan Ki Tekari where the late PM is said to have spent much of childhood, was built to promote Hindi language.
Though Vajpayee was not in favour of a temple being built in his honour, constant pursuance from his followers forced him to accept the request. However, he had put a rider – the cost of construction should be minimal and there should not be any idol in his name, said advocate Vijay Singh Chouhan, one of the followers who had constructed the temple.
Chauhan added that, respecting Vajpayee’s instructions, they put his picture in the temple instead of an idol. “Atalji is an inspiration for poets. We wanted to construct a temple to promote Hindi language. Atalji was a stalwart in the field of Hindi language and won millions of hearts across the globe through his Hindi oratory skills, even at the United Nations...,” he said.
For poets and lovers of Hindi language, the temple is a congregation place, added Chauhan.
“The temple is an example of his simple way of living. Young poets come here to draw inspiration from him... we want a huge memorial for him. We worship him daily and chant his poems,” said Naseem Rafat, a veteran poet.
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