Veteran space scientist K Kasturirangan says he is touched by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's remarkable quality -- the way he treated his colleagues and juniors, however "low" they might be, and his personal feeling for them.
Turning emotional and nostalgic as he spoke about his association with the former Prime Minister, he said it was Vajpayee who changed the name of India's maiden mission to the moon from 'Somayaan' to 'Chandrayaan-1', and also made him a Rajya Sabha member.
Kasturirangan said he worked with Vajpayee for four years when he was Secretary in the Department of Space and Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation directly reporting to him.
"I used to meet him twice in a month...nice 'Chai' and 'Kachori' he used to serve to me," he told PTI.
"...an extraordinary boss who intently heard all your briefings on various progress of space, he would keep some numbers in his mind; it's remarkable, how much he absorbs when you brief him," the former ISRO chief recalled.
Kasturirangan narrated how Vajpayee renamed the Space department's proposal on 'Somayaan' as 'Chandrayaan-1', and said he was touched with the way the former Prime Minister treated his colleagues and juniors.
Vajapayee made the announcement on Chandrayaan-1 during his Independence Day address in 2003.
Kasturirangan recalled when he asked Vajpayee about the issue, the latter informed him that he spoke to Sanskrit scholars who felt 'Chandrayaan' was a better word than 'Somayaan.'
But Vajpayee chose to let him continue in the position till the age of 62, saying "you (Kasturirangan) are young and doing well."
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