Bugles sounded the last post, uniformed soldiers clicked their heels and a sombre silence fell over the crowd as former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s mortal remains were consigned to flames on Friday evening, the sun setting on the life of a poet-politician who combined accommodative politics with graciousness.
His daughter Namita Kaul Bhattacharya lit the pyre as cries of “Atal Bihari Amar Rahe” reverberated. The tricolour in which Vajpayee’s body was draped was folded and handed over to his granddaughter Niharika.
The country is observing a seven-day State mourning as a mark of respect for the former Prime Minister, who had been decorated with Bharat Ratna and was very popular. The tricolour is also flying half-mast.