Mumbai, Aug 17: A stalwart, a poet, a writer, an enlightened mind and a compassionate being leaves this world -- that's how megastar Amitabh Bachchan began his tribute to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, whose demise has left the nation mourning.
Vajpayee died on Thursday at AIIMS Hospital in New Delhi after weeks of being hospitalised. He was 93.
"He was an admirer of my father and his works and there were many an occasion when I would be present at their meetings," Amitabh, son of late prolific and celebrated writer Harivansh Rai Bachchan, wrote on his blog.
He said his father knew Vajpayee, who was then a student. Harivansh Rai, he says, was very impressed by Vajpayee's oratory skills, which was his virtue.
"His oratory powers were unmatched and the usage of words exemplary. They were filled with the power of pronunciation. The rendition of the word was enough to give it meaning... One did not need to understand the language, that was his brilliance. Some of his public speeches and ones done in the Houses of Parliament are testimony.
"A poet, a writer, a politician, a Prime Minister... an extremely rare human," Amitabh wrote.
The actor also wrote about the special bond Vajpayee shared with his father.
"Despite his prominence as a leader of eminence, Atalji never hesitated to meet up with my father... Particularly on one occasion when my father was admitted to AIIMS hospital in Delhi, Atalji visited him to ask after his condition. I was there. His compassion and concern was most gracious.
"It was Atalji who agreed to launch and honour the occasion when the ‘stamp' was inaugurated in my father's name. It was in Lucknow."
Big B, 75, also recounted the birthday routine when Vajpayee would ring him on his special day, and he would ring the politician on his birthday.
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Sirsi (Karnataka), Apr 8 (PTI): The police in Uttar Kannada went into a tizzy on Tuesday after they found fake currency notes of Rs 500 denomination from a house in Dandeli with 'movie shooting purpose only' written on them.
Based on a tip-off, police searched a rented house at Gandhinagar in Dandeli and confiscated the fake currency notes along with a money counting machine.
Arshad Khan, who is said to be from Goa, was staying as a tenant in the house belonging to Noorjan Jhunjuwadkar, police said.
Police were informed after Jhunjuwadkar noticed that Khan was absent from the house for the past one month.
The fake currency notes had the inscription 'Reverse Bank of India' on them, but did not have the signature of the RBI governor, police said.
The notes were printed on a shining paper with only zeros written in the place of the number, and 'movie shooting purpose only' inscribed on them, police said.
A hunt is on to trace Khan to question him about the seizure, they added.