Neither love, nor pain. It was the RSS Shakha that he attended as a youngster, which brought out the poet in Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Recalling his association with veteran journalist Narayan Rao Tharte, to whom he presented the late Bapurao Lele Memorial Journalism Award, Vajpayee said the former was not only among the people who inspired him to join the Sangh, but also pen poems and songs.

"In the Shakha, we used to sing the Gan Geet (organisational anthem) and patriotic songs. There, he (Tharte) inspired us to write poems and songs. That influenced me and I started writing poetry," Vajpayee revealed at the awards presentation ceremony.

Deputy Prime Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief K S Sudershan were among the dignitaries present on the occasion.

Vajpayee's poems including his now famous Geet Wahin Gata Hoon (I will sing that song again) have not only been published but rendered by noted singers and even turned into ballets.