The Chief Executive

AN EASYGOING BOSS, Vajpayee never needed to assert his authority. But behind the quiet, often sleepy, demeanour was the organised brain of a meticulous person who was democratic in his approach yet firm in his beliefs

- Shakti Sinha

It is difficult, and yet easy to classify Atal Bihari Vajpayee as a boss. The first thing I had to understand— and it took me a long time to do that—was to accept him with his limitations. It was only over a period of time that I realised that while he had few illusions, he was, at the same time, supremely self-confident. Initially, it was not an easy task, as he was quite content to be silent and I was left wondering what I was supposed to do.