In Gorakhpur, he once played ‘Sahbala’
Atal shared a connection with Gorakhpur, courtesy his elder brother
GORAKHPUR: Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee shares a special bond with Gorakhpur, courtesy his elder brother Prem Bihari Vajpayee, who got married here way back in 1947.
Krishna Sadan, the old style building located in the by-lane of Mali Tola area of Alinagar locality, still reminds locals of the former PM who would come here quite often to meet the in-laws of his brother.
“He would publicly say in meetings that he had an old relation with Gorakhpur where he had come as “Sahbala” (groom’s associate) in the wedding of his brother,” recalls Jagdeesh Prasad, an 85-year-old RSS worker, who claimed to have work with RSS veteran
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He would publicly say in meetings that he had an old relation with Gorakhpur where he had come as ‘Sahbala’” (groom’s associate) in the wedding of his brother
JAGDEESH PRASAD, RSS worker
Nana Ji Deshmukh. Sanjay Dixit, whose aunt Rameshwari Vajpayee was married to Atal’s brother, still lives in a portion of Krishna Sadan.
Deepak Vajpayee, son of Atal’s brother, is active in politics in MP’s Gwalior. “Atal ji doesn’t belong to me but to the entire country,” he said while informing that his cousin Anoop Mishra (Vajpayee’s nephew) was carrying forward the political legacy of Vajpayee by serving as an MP from Muraina. Others who knew Vajpayee remember him as jolly person who would always care for others.
Prasad said Vajpayee would often visit RSS shakhas in Gorakhpur and even played kushti (wrestling) with workers.
Back then, the RSS office was located at Sher Kothi beside Islamia Inter College.
Sharing an interesting memory, Prasad shared that one night Vajpayee recited all his 51 poems at the Sangh office which was recorded in audio cassettes copies of which are still played occasionally at Shakhas to motivate people.