Fare thee well: Nation bids tearful adieu to Atalji

farewell-vajpayee Mourners walks along the mortal remains of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee | PTI

Bugles sounded the last post, uniformed soldiers clicked their heels and a sombre silence fell over the crowd that had chanted "long live Atalji" a while ago as former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's mortal remains were consigned to the flames on Friday evening, the sun setting on the life of a poet-politician who combined accommodative politics with graciousness

Vajpayee, one of India's most loved political leaders, was accorded a befitting send-off as thousands of people, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP chief Amit Shah and several Union ministers, walked the entire 4km stretch of the funeral procession to Smriti Sthal on the banks of Yamuna in Delhi where he was cremated with full state honours.

Vajpayee's foster daughter Namita Kaul Bhattacharya lit the pyre as cries of "Atal Bihari Amar Rahe" reverberated.

President Ram Nath Kovind, former prime minister Manmohan Singh, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, the King of Bhutan and L.K. Advani were among the others who paid homage to the late leader at Smriti Sthal.

Earlier, thousands of supports paid homage to the late leader at the BJP headquarters on Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg in the national capital.

(With PTI inputs)