There was more to him than he let on, asserts Aditi Phadnis.
The convoy started from Bhalla college ground and went to Har ki Pauri with a host of party leaders and family members in attendance.
The Indian Diaspora has been able to carve a niche in their adopted countries as a result of their talent, perseverance and hardworking nature, asserts Rup Narayan Das.
Meanwhile, a 25-feet high statue of Vajpayee will be installed in Uttar Pradesh government secretariat in Lucknow
The 93-year-old veteran politician, who died at 05.05 pm, was also put on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support on his last day, they said.
Her comments come days after Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif sought "serious" and "sincere" talks with his Indian counterpart for the resolution of the "burning" issues, including Kashmir.
As a leader, he was ambitious, not for himself but for India and its people. His was not the short-term election cycle calculation of individual political gain. His was a practical vision of how to better the lives of his fellow citizens, asserts Ambassador Shivshankar Menon, who served as foreign secretary and national security advisor when Dr Singh was prime minister.
'Suddenly we had a new comprehension of affairs, which reminded that the luxury of politics floated atop a foundation by economics.' 'Along with this, finance ministers became crucial in molding the perception and reputation of Union Cabinets.' 'Governments couldn't afford a wrong person in that portfolio,' asserts Shyam G Menon.
If Advani's ideological leadership galvanised the party's cadres and core support, Vajpayee soaring oratory, common touch and easy charm won over the masses.
In an interaction with a group of Indian journalists, the three-time prime minister and president of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-N described Jaishankar's visit as a "good opening" and said both sides should now engage and move forward.
Vajpayee's ashes will be immersed in rivers in all the districts in Uttar Pradesh -- his karmabhoomi.
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.
The twin-engine turboprop transport aircraft, carrying 102 people, had gone missing on February 7, 1968 while flying from Chandigarh to Leh.
Kaul had been Vajpayee's constant companion of many years and the mother of his adopted daughter Namita Bhattacharya
'The Vajpayee personae is so mirrored in Modi's initiatives that one wonders if the similarities are merely a coincidence or a divine design,' says RSS ideologue Tarun Vijay.
Former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's health worsened on Friday with AIIMS doctors putting him on "mechanical ventilation" after his respiratory infection worsened.
'It was India's good fortune to have a Vajpayee lead the government at this crucial moment in history.' 'By taking the N-decision he saved future generations of Indians from being 'Kosovoed' or 'Iraqed',' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
What was the experience of meeting Vajpayee like?
He won two terms in office, which was a stunning feat for a leader who used his silence as the most vocal weapon to change the economy and the lives of a billion people, asserts Tarun Vijay, former BJP MP and former Chief Editor, Panchjanya, the RSS weekly.
'Vajpayee was the first prime minister to visit the battlefield at the height of conflict,' recalls Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'Vajpayee would not have approved either of the way the BJP now functions or of the thoughts that it entertains in its mind,' says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
The India-US nuclear deal was aimed at ending India's nuclear isolation and nuclear apartheid, recalls Rup Narayan Das.
A host of issues relating to bilateral, regional and international matters of concern figured in the parleys.
Born in 1924, Vajpayee entered politics during the Quit India movement in 1942. He was also the first external affairs minister to deliver a speech in the UN Assembly in Hindi. Vajpayee was elected to Lok Sabha from Lucknow in 1991, 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2004. He is the first and the only non-Congress leader who completed his full term as prime minister.
India's tactical and operational response demonstrated its ability to prosecute tri-service operations, even without a formal tri-service doctrine or the higher command structure needed to coordinate it, points out Ajai Shukla.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee asked the players to win hearts too apart from matches
She quit the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2013 claiming the party was under a grip of power politics.
However, he will continue to be in hospital till infection is controlled.
Today even those who support Prime Minister Modi feel there is a certain sense of listlessness in this government. What is it intending to achieve? This is not easy to say, notes Aakar Patel.
Vajpayee's long-time associate and Bharatiya Janata Party veteran L K Advani, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and BJP president Amit Shah were also present at the event.
The warmth and respect for India were evident wherever I went and noticed how most Latin Americans have Indian gurus either directly or online and yoga was very much in vogue, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Modi will take oath for a second term on Thursday at 7 pm.
Delivering the sermon, he said election and "resolution of the Kashmir issue" were two different things.
'Like General Patton, possibly the greatest exponent of the art of war, Vajpayee had the ability to be always on the offensive,' assesses Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
As the 240-seater prime minister attempts to moderate his image of hardline hero, he has made room for others to elbow in and that is what is happening. And that it what will continue to happen from inside the BJP, notes Aakar Patel.
Much drama is likely to continue in the coming year, within the Sangh Parivar as well as involving the Opposition parties and, of course the BJP's allies, predicts Modi biographer Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
'If Vajpayee's BJP saw a chance to redefine India's nuclear theology, Modi's BJP has scarcely paid any attention to it.'
Omar Abdullah will have to negotiate at every step with the lieutenant governor's office and the Modi government at the Centre.
'Maharashtra is virtually in a debt trap.'
