Kaul had been Vajpayee's constant companion of many years and the mother of his adopted daughter Namita Bhattacharya
Rajkumari Kaul's death over the weekend brings back memories of phone conversations at a time when landline numbers were still in vogue, and Atal Bihari Vajpayee was still to become prime minister, remembers Girish Nikam.
The convoy started from Bhalla college ground and went to Har ki Pauri with a host of party leaders and family members in attendance.
Vajpayee's ashes will be immersed in rivers in all the districts in Uttar Pradesh -- his karmabhoomi.
This is the first full-scale review of VIP protectees by the Union home ministry after the Modi 2.0 government took charge.
"You can change friends but not neighbours," Atal Bihari Vajpayee famously said this 15 years ago.
Offering his condolences to Vajpayee's family and admirers, Rahul Gandhi said the former prime minister was loved and respected by millions.
Thousands of mourners jostled and some clambered on trees to capture the moment on their phones as former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's cortege left the Bharatiya Janata Party's headquarters for Rashtriya Smriti Sthal.
He was admitted to the AIIMS on June 11 with a kidney tract infection, urinary tract infection, low urine output and chest congestion.
Only on Wednesday, in his Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Modi said he wants to resolve the Kashmir issue through Vajpayee's doctrine of "Insaniyat, Kashmiriyat, Jamhooriyat" - a testimony to the former PM's lasting legacy.