Vajpayee's 2nd death anniversary: Remembering the former PM who loved poetry, aspired to be a journalist

One of the most loved and respected politicians of all time, Vajpayee is regarded as one of the greatest politicians India has ever produced.

One of the most loved and respected politicians of all time, Atal Bihari Vajpayee is seen as one of the greatest politicians India has ever produced. Also called the 'Bhishma Pitamah' of Indian politics, Vajpayee had not only won the hearts of his country 

He went to college with his father: Vajpayee attended DAV College in Kanpur along with his father. They studied in the same class and lived in the same hostel. (Photo| EPS)

Dropped out of college: Vajpayee dropped out of his law college to run an RSS magazine in the early 1950s. His sister used to throw away his pants because his father was a government employee and did not want him to wear the RSS Khaki uniform. (Photo| EPS)

He wanted to become a journalist: Vajpayee in an interview said that he always wanted to become a journalist but ended up in politics. (Photo| PTI)

Won his first election in 1957: After the sudden death of Shyama Prasad Mookerjee before the elections, Vajpayee took the baton from him and won his first election to the Parliament in 1957. (Photo| EPS)

Elected to Lok Sabha ten times: Due to his intelligence and grounding in politics, Vajpayee was elected to the Lok Sabha for a record ten times and twice for Rajya Sabha. He was the most popular politician and the first ever non-Congress PM to serve a full term of five years in office. (Photo| EPS)

First Hindi speaker in UN General Assembly: Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the first External Affairs Minister and the first person to deliver a speech in Hindi in the United Nations General Assembly in 1977. (Photo| EPS)

Allowed testing of nuclear weapons: One of the key elements during his government was that he allowed the testing of nuclear weapons in 1998. Multiple nuclear tests were conducted during his tenure. (Photo| EPS)

Vajpayee started Delhi-Lahore bus service: He always wanted a peaceful alliance with Pakistan. To bring in full-scale diplomatic peace process, he inaugurated the historic Delhi-Lahore bus service in February 1999. (Photo| PTI)

His birthday is celebrated as 'Good Governance Day': Vajpayee's birthday which falls on 25th December has been declared as 'Good Governance Day' by the NDA government. (Photo| EPS)

His immense love for poetry: Vajpayee's passion was writing poems. He released two albums with Jagjit Singh featuring his popular poems: Nayi Disha (1999) and Samvedna (2002). (Photo| PTI)

Remained a bachelor throughout his life: Atal Bihari Vajpayee never married and remained a bachelor throughout his life. Although, he adopted a daughter - Namita. (Photo| PTI)