Poem Atal Bihari Vajpayee Quotes

Incidentally, at a reception at Governor House, Atal recited his poem ‘Ab jung naa hone denge hum’. Atal was felicitated at Lahore Fort where, hinting at the common heritage of the two nations, he pointed out how Shah Jahan was born in the fort and Akbar had spent close to a decade there. The audience was so impressed by Atal’s speech that Nawaz Sharif quipped, ‘Vajpayee sahab ab toh Pakistan mein bhi election jeet sakte hain. [Mr Vajpayee can now win elections even in Pakistan.]

My lord! Do not place me so high, That I cannot embrace Those who are not my own. - Never Place Me So High

To those who try to reach The throne of power Over mounds of dead bodies Of innocent children Old women Young men, I have a question: Did nothing bind them To those who died? - Power

A remorseful Atal, after losing the Lok Sabha elections held after the assassination of Indira Gandhi, said in Gwalior (from where he had contested) that he wanted to clear any misgivings: ‘As a student of class X, I had written “Hindu Tan Man, Hindu Jeevan, Rag Rag Hindu Mera Parichay.” People say that Atal, who had written the poem, is not the same who does politics. There is no truth in it. I am Hindu. How can I forget that? However, my Hindutva is not constricted, it is not narrow.

One of Atal’s best-known poems is ‘Geet Naya Gaata Hoon’ (I Sing a New Song). The poem begins with the protagonist in a crestfallen mood saying, ‘Geet nahin gaata hoon [I do not sing]’, and further, ‘Benakaab chehre hain, daag bade gehre hain; toota tilism, aaj, sach se bhaya khata hoon, geet nahin gata hoon.’ In the second stanza, the protagonist has regained his confidence and says, ‘Geet naya gata hoon; toote hue taaron se, phoote vasanti swar; paththar ki chaati mein ug aaya nav ankur.’ It ends, ‘Kaal ke kapal par likhta, mitata hoon.