Agra: Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who was cremated with full state honours at Smriti Sthal in New Delhi on Friday, did not lose hope about finding a lasting solution to tensions between India and Pakistan, even after talks with former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf failed to yield result in 2001. The round of talks between the two leaders, also known as the Agra summit, was a landmark peace initiative by Vajpayee.The three-time PM’s optimism is etched in the guest register of Jaypee Palace Hotel, where he stayed. “I carry back with me unforgettable memories of my talks with his excellency Gen Pervez Musharraf, President of Pakistan. I am confident and I sincerely pray that the Agra summit will ultimately move to be a useful milestone along the high road to peace and normalisation of relations between India and Pakistan,” Vajpayee wrote. He had stayed in room number 2203, which is now known as the “summit suit”. Two special chairs, which were made available for the summit, are still preserved by the hotel.Praising the hospitality of the staff, Vajpayee wrote, “I express my deep appreciation and thanks for the excellent hospitality accorded by the management and staff of Jaypee Palace hotel, Agra to me and members of my delegation.”Hari Sukumar, the hotel’s vice-president, told TOI that even though he was not here at the time of the summit, the staff that was present still remembers every moment of the former PM’s stay. Food and beverage manager Pawan Kumar, who was here in 2001, recalled that Vajpayee preferred simple food like ‘ghiya’ (gourd), ‘bhindi’ (ladyfinger), ‘tava roti’, ‘missi roti’ and ‘namkeen lassi’ (salted buttermilk).Sukumar said that he got the chance to meet Vajpayee in New York in 2003, when the latter addressed the United Nations General Assembly. “I was the general manager of the New York hotel where he stayed. I will never forget those 15 minutes with him. I haven’t seen such a humble person, who treats everyone equally,” said Sukumar.According to ASI officials, the former PM had visited Taj Mahal once in 1977, when British prime minister James Callaghan came to Agra to see the monument. Vajpayee was then the foreign minister and when officials asked him to write something in the visitor’s book, he said, “Read my poetry on Taj.”

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