India chose her places of pilgrimages on the top of hills and mountains, by the side of the holy rivers, in the heart of forests and by the shores of the ocean, which along with the sky, is our nearest visible symbol of the vast, the boundless, the infinite and the sublime.

If one is eloquent in speech
Even the hills nod in agreement
If one is harsh in words
Even the hills grimace in anger.

Vajpayee's additional generosity to Muslim pilgrims earned him, in Varsha Bhosle's unsparing satirical columns, the alias Hajpayee.

My message to you all is of hope, courage and confidence. Let us mobilize all our resources in a systematic and organized way and tackle the grave issues that confront us with grim determination and discipline worthy of a great nation.

I actually have an ear infection, which is pretty grim. I've never had an ear infection before," she said. "It is the most painful thing that has ever, ever happened to me in my life — it was worse than childbirth.