Of ‘foodie’ Vajpayee and omelettes cooked by him

PATNA: It was an unforgettable day for those who had tasted omelettes prepared by none other than Atal Bihari Vajpayee in a ward of

Patna

Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) in November 1974.


Recalling the occasion, Patna-based freelance journalist Surendra Kishor said

Vajpayee

had come to see his political mentor and a RSS leader, Nanaji Deshmukh, who was admitted in the PMCH after being wounded while protecting Jaya Prakash (JP) Narayan from CRPF’s lathicharge on November 4, 1974. Deshmukh had taken the lathi blow near Income Tax roundabout where a lifesize statue of JP stands now.

“Vajpayee had come all the way from Delhi to enquire about the condition of Deshmukh at PMCH. I was there at the Rajendra surgical ward of PMCH, where Deshmukh and other JP supporters were admitted. Vajpayee went to the the kitchen and started making omelettes for Deshmukh and the others present in the ward. He also served the omelettes to us,” Kishor told this newspaper on Friday, adding it was on the same day that Vajpayee revealed he was a foodie.

Vajpayee also used to eat food cooked at the house of columnist and BJP’s state spokesperson Suresh Rungta. Recalling the good old days, Rungta said, “When the then PM Vajpayee ji visited Patna in 2004, he stayed in a hotel but ate food cooked at my home. When I started serving him food, he asked me whether I had brought ‘

kheer

’ and ‘malpuha’ or not. I answered in negative, saying the officials had instructed me to serve him only simple food. To this, Vajpayee said he was fine and only his body was ill.”