Pall of gloom on paternal village
Villagers of Atal’s native place Bateshwar recalled fond memories of one of the tallest leaders of the country
AGRA A pall of gloom descended on Bateshwar, the paternal village of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, soon after the news of his death broke.
Vajpayee’s relatives and villagers recalled the fond memories of one of the tallest leaders of the country and his association with Bateshwar, located on the banks of river Yamuna about 70 kilometres from Agra.
Vajpayee was born in Gwalior where his father was employed in education department. This may be the reason that his paternal house in Bateshwar is in ruins with only an outer wall being intact.
According to villagers, it was in 1999 that Vajpayee visited Bateshwar last.
Atal’s nephew Rakesh Vajpayee, who now looks after the management of Bateshwar temple, said: “We got an opportunity to interact with Atal ji when he came to address a public rally as prime minister in 1999. After his visit, we got a railway line connecting Agra.”
“In the ’40s, Atal Chacha (uncle) had taken part in an attack on the chowki of Britishers in the village, also known as Jangalat Kothi. The angry British imposed a penalty of Rs 1,30,000 on the villagers to punish freedom-fighters,” he added.
“Atal ji did not carry an ego despite achieving such heights. He was a very good swimmer and was very fond of having a bath in the Yamuna. He had no hesitation in getting photographed while having bath,” he said.
Jagveer Singh of Bhartar village near Bateshwar said, “Atal ji used to have ‘gujhia’ (a local sweet), ‘Mathe ke aalu’ (curd potatoes) and ‘baigan ka bharta’ whenever he visited his paternal village.”
“Even the heights attained by Atal ji could not change him. We welcomed him by putting a ‘teeka’ on his forehead when he came to our house in 1999. ‘Dal baati’ was prepared for the occasion but he asked for ‘karhi chawal’ and ‘roti’ prepared on village oven (chulha),” recalled Ganga Devi Mishra (78) who resides near Atal’s paternal house. Ganga Devi Mishra, who retired as head mistress from a primary school in Bijkoli village, said due to the tradition of ‘purdah’ (veil) she could not come in front of Atal ji when he visited the village. Earlier on Thursday, the villagers organised special prayers to pray for the recovery of the leader. Atal’s nephew Rakesh said the villagers conducted prayers at all 41 temples on the banks of Yamuna in Bateshwar to pray for the recovery of their beloved leader.
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