PUNE: A warm-hearted and a simple person, who even as the Prime Minister, did not forget to call his close Pune friend Arvind Lele to enquire about his health, and who easily hopped on a rented bicycle to tour the city and interact with party workers.
This is how friends describe former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and say that there could be no person more deserving of the Bharat Ratna - the highest civilian honour - than him.
Vajpayee was a frequent visitor to Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Arvind Lele's home in Shukrawar Peth, recalls Lele's son Milind who is director of the Maharashi Karve Stree Shikshan Sanstha. Lele, who has met Vajpayee several times, says the Bharat Ratna is a befitting honour for a leader who truly lived for the country. His oldest memory of the former Prime Minister was at the historic Shaniwarwada, where Vajpayee held a packed audience spellbound during a public rally.
"Baba (Arvind Lele) shared a close friendship with Atalji. I remember, the counting of votes for the 1999 Lok Sabha elections was on the same day when Baba was to undergo a bypass surgery. Suddenly, there was much excitement among the hospital staff and we were told that there was a call from the Prime Minister's office. Atalji was on the line and wanted to enquire about Baba's health," recalled Lele.
Vajpayee's friendship with Arvind Lele dates back to the 1950s. "We used to live in Shukrawar peth and Baba used to cycle to Motibaug - the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) headquarters in Pune to meet Atalji there. There was a cycle shop next to Motibaug and Atalji used to rent a bicycle and both of them used to tour the city to meet party workers," Lele said. When both the friends sat together for long chats, literature and especially poetry were their favourite topics, besides of course politics.
It was the late Arvind Lele who translated Vajpayee's poems in Marathi and his son Milind brought out an audio cassette 'Geet Nave Gato Mee'...with noted playback singer Suresh Wadkar lending his voice to the poems.
Eighty five-year-old Haribhau Nagarkar's happiness at his friend getting the Bharat Ratna was quite evident on Wednesday. "I have known Atalji since last 40 years but we became very close over 25 years ago when the RSS held its convention in Pune and I was in charge of the mess arrangements," he said.
While Vajpayee visited Nagarkar's home and jewellery shop on Karve Road, he also hosted his Pune friend at his Delhi residence. "Atalji had ordered hot onion bhajis for me, but it was Ekadashi and I was fasting. He was disappointed that I could not eat the bhajis but said he wouldn't want me to break my fast. As we shared a cup of tea he told me to make another trip to Delhi to enjoy the onion bhajis," Nagarkar said.
When Vajpayee underwent knee surgeries in Mumbai, Nagarkar had visited him in the hospital. "The security was strict and I was not allowed to go in. It was thanks to Arvind Lele that I was finally let in. When Atalji saw me hovering near the door he called me in. The security staff was taken aback when I sat on his bed and even checked his legs," he recalled with a smile.
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