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| Vajpayee mural in Lucknow |
Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee was unquestionably one of Lucknow’s greatest citizens.
Vajpayee was a freedom fighter, poet, orator, and diplomat. The late Prime Minister represented Lucknow with distinction in the Lok Sabha for three decades. He was a statesman who could work for peace with Pakistan even while decisively defeating them on the Kargil battlefield. His term as India’s Prime Minister is still remembered as a time of unprecedented progress and prosperity.
Lucknow is justly proud of Bharat Ratna Atal Behari.
The City of Lucknow honoured him with a giant mural.
The City of Lucknow also honoured Sir Cliff Richard with a similar mural.
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| Cliff Richard mural in Lucknow |
While Sir Cliff is not generally associated with Lucknavi tehzeeb, he was born at King George’s hospital in Lucknow. His Anglo-Indian parents worked for the colonial Indian Railways. They were based in Dehra Dun at the time. They came down to Lucknow for looking for better maternity care. Cliff Richard's family later moved to Calcutta and emigrated to the UK in 1948, when Cliff was eight years old.
So, what do Cliff Richard and Atal Behari Vajpayee have in common? If their murals were to come to life, would they find anything to talk about?
Maybe they could talk about being bachelor boys.
One of Sir Cliff's greatest hits is "Bachelor Boy". The song goes:
“Son, you are a bachelor Boy
And that’s the way to stay
Son, you’ll be a bachelor boy
Until your dying day.”
Sir Cliff, being a man of integrity, lived by his own advice. He dated many charming ladies, including Sue Barker a tennis player and former French Open singles champion. But he has remained a bachelor (at least until his eightieth birthday).
Atalji was a bachelor too.
The way Vajpayee put it "main kunwar hoon par brahmachari nahin" (I'm single but not celibate).
Sir Cliff might relate. They might just have something to talk about.
Though I doubt if even Sir Cliff’s persuasion could get Atalji to do the dance steps from the Bachelor Boy video (click here to watch). Those immortal moves can belong to one and only one of the Lakhnavi bachelor boys.
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| Summer Holiday - the album featuring Bachelor Boy |
