Atal Bihari Vajpayee was known not just for his prominent role in Indian politics; he was also a man of words and expressions. Vajpayee’s prowess as a poet, at times made the Indian public doubt if politics was an accidental career for him.
This artistic half of Vajpayee, that of an eloquent poet and a litterateur, was celebrated by many around the world.
Reflections of this eloquence are visible in many of his political speeches. Vajpayee was showered with respect and admiration, not just by his party leaders, but by the opposition as well.
He was the first recipient of the Best Parliamentarian Award in 1994, where he was described as a ‘multifaceted personality; an eminent national leader, an erudite politician, forceful orator, litterateur, poet, and journalist.’
Today, when the nation mourns his death, let’s pay our respects with a few lines from his poems and remind ourselves of what he stood for.
“It’s dark in the middle of the day
The sun is defeated by its shadow
Squeeze the oil from your soul
and light the wick,
Come let’s light a lamp again!”
“My Lord,
Never let me climb so high
That I am unable to embrace another stranger,
Deliver me ever from such arrogance!”
“Why shouldn’t I live every moment to the fullest?
Why shouldn’t I admire the beauty in every fragment?”
“The cycle of being and not being
Will continue till eternity,
So will our illusion
That we are, we will be.”
“Everything is at stake, there’s no option to stop now
We can break at this point, but we cannot bend now!”
Let us hope our nation delivers itself from the arrogance that has become the hallmark of the current political climate.
The poems have been translated by The Better Indian.
Also Read: ‘Such A Resident May Never Grace Teen Murti Again’- Atal Bihari Vajpayee- A Great Admirer Of Nehru