#DidYouKnow: Vajpayee's hometown Gwalior has a temple dedicated to him
That former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee was a renowned poet in Hindi is no news. But do you know there is actually a temple in Gwalior (Vajpayee's hometown) where poets and Hindi language aficionados gather and discuss his poems? Dedicated to him, the temple was built by an advocate, who was enamored by Vajpayee's Hindi speech that he delivered in the UN in 1977.
Before temple got built, it faced strong opposition from Vajpayee
The temple built in 2005 is located in Satyanarayan ki Tekari, where Vajpayee spent his early days. However, before the temple got built, it faced strong opposition, from none other than the BJP stalwart himself. He repeatedly turned down temple-building requests, but his followers were persistent too. He was finally convinced when they told him the temple will be built solely to promote Hindi.
He finally agreed, but had two conditions
However, Vajpayee had two conditions. His first condition was the temple should be made on a tight budget, and his second condition emphasized that there should be no idol of his inside the temple. The followers, led by Chouhan, agreed, and up came the red-stone temple. And instead of an idol, they kept a photo of Vajpayee, which they worship every day.
Temple has priest visiting daily, Asthadhatu idol gifted to Vajpayee
A priest has also been appointed, who comes daily and offers prayers to Vajpayee's photo. The Asthadhatu idol, prerequisite for establishing any temple, was gifted to Vajpayee, lest it gets stolen. "It got stolen from a temple nearby, so couldn't risk it," informed Chouhan.
'We worship Vajpayee daily and chant his poems'
Over the years, the temple has become a joint where young and veteran poets, language experts congregate and discuss Vajpayee's poems. Veteran poet Naseem Rafat, a regular, said, "We worship him (Vajpayee) daily and chant his poems. Many young poets come here and recite their compositions and poems too." They also give out awards in Vajpayee's name. So far, 700 poets have been honored.
Vajpayee's red-stone statue is being built by his followers
Vajpayee's followers have now started building a red stone statue of him, which will be finished within three months. They will most probably place it inside the temple, replacing the photo. They also want the Madhya Pradesh government to build a memorial in his name.
