Vajpayee's 101 birth anniversary: Remembering the leader who loved food, poetry, and public life

Atal Bihari Vajpayee died on August 16, 2018, but his reputation as a poet, orator and compassionate statesman continues to resonate across India. (AFP file photo)

Atal Bihari Vajpayee, former Prime Minister and one of its most influential political voices, was born on December 25, 1924. And as the country observes his 101st birth anniversary, here's a look at the man beyond his political legacy --  the quirks, warmth and personal anecdotes that shaped his public persona.

When Madhuri Dixit had to distract him from gulab jamuns

Senior journalists and former bureaucrats remembered Vajpayee’s long-standing fondness for food, particularly sweets and seafood. Rasheed Kidwai recalled an episode when aides deployed actor Madhuri Dixit at an official lunch to distract him from gulab jamun, despite his strict diet. “Meanwhile, the aides quickly removed the desserts from his line of vision,” he said.

Officials who worked with him said he insisted on tasting local cuisine wherever he travelled — puchkas in Kolkata, biryani and haleem in Hyderabad, and galouti kebabs in Lucknow. He preferred pakodas dusted with chat masala and cups of strong masala tea. During Cabinet meetings, he would quietly munch salted peanuts, expecting refills each time the plate went empty.

His associates also recalled how he relished dishes cooked by friends and often prepared at least one item himself when journalists joined him for meals. Despite his Brahmin upbringing and RSS background, Vajpayee openly enjoyed non-vegetarian dishes — especially prawns — and was known to have whisky on occasion.

This 2002 photo features then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee (L) and then BJP Gujarat state chief ministerial candidate Narendra Modi at an election campaign rally in Ahmedabad. 9Image credit: AFP)

Unfulfilled love story in college

Vajpayee never married, but his early years carried a tender yet unfulfilled love story with his college friend Rajkumari Kaul. He wrote her letters while studying in Gwalior, one of which he slipped into a library book; her reply never reached him, leading him to assume she was uninterested.

Beyond politics, he remained a poet. His work gained wider reach through Jagjit Singh’s 2002 musical adaptation Kya Khoya Kya Paya, which featured a preface by Amitabh Bachchan and a video starring Shah Rukh Khan.

Former President APJ Abdul Kalam and former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee pose for a photo at a breakfast meeting 16 March 2003 on the lawns of the Mughal Gardens at the Presidential Palace in New Delhi. (Image credit: AFP)

His legacy in public memory

Vajpayee’s life was revisited through the 2024 biopic Main Atal Hoon, starring Pankaj Tripathi, which chronicled his journey from RSS activism to the prime ministership, including his leadership during the Pokhran tests and the Kargil War.

Vajpayee died on August 16, 2018, but his reputation as a poet, orator and compassionate statesman continues to resonate across India.