Shri. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the ex Prime Minister of India, is a multi faceted political personality.He has been the only prime minister since Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru to occupy the office of Prime Minister of India through three successive mandates. He was conferred Padam Vibhushan in 1992 in recognition of his services to the nation. Well known and respected for his poetry and as an eloquent speaker, Shri vajpayee is known to be a avid reader.
In 1994, he was named India's 'Best Parliamentarian.' He was elected seven times to Lok Sabha and two times to Rajya Sabha. He was widely respected within the country and abroad as a statesman of the genre of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru. He also became the first person to deliver a speech to the United Nations General Assembly in Hindi (in Morarji Desai government), the "most unforgettable" moment in his life by his own admission. He admited his purpose of his life-"To play my part sincerely in every aspect of my life and to see India takes its place as a great nation".
While sketching him, I remembered my maternal grandfather who passed away a decade ago, was very close to him and very influenced with Atalji's leadership. During election campaigning, Atalji and his mates used to stay at my grandfather's place. In those days, Advani ji and Bhairon Singh Sekhawat used to be left and right hand for him. When I was a kid, I also had been to one of Atalji's campaign speech in my home town and the funny part was, I asked my dad "papa, ye beech beech mein itni der ruk kyun jate hein, apni speech dhang se yaad karke kyun nahin aate". Everyone smiled and then my dad told me No, this is his own style of delivery.
Your comments are most welcome on his sketch!!
~Atul Ojhal
