Vajpayee's family, friends pray for his speedy recovery

Members of the Beriwal family where former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee used to put up during his visits to the city are praying for his speedy recovery as his condition remains critical at the Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences.

For the Beriwals of Chittaranjan Avenue in the city, Vajpayee is a family friend.

"Whenever he had a programme in Bihar, Odisha, he used to go via Kolkata and would come to our house", Ghanshyam Beriwal said.

"He was a non-vegetarian and connoisseur of good food. But in our house, non-vegetarian food is not cooked. So, he used to eat all kinds of food. On some occasions, Vajpayee-ji even used to have phuchka (golgappa) sitting in our balcony," he recalls.

"Vajpayee-ji also used to watch films in our house. Once we had watched the film Umrao Jaan. He is a nice human being," another member of the family told a news channel.

The Beriwals said they were pleasantly surprised by Vajpayee's unannounced visits on several occasions.

Whenever they used to be in Delhi, they would make it a point to drop in at his residence no matter how busy he was, said a senior member of the Beriwal family.

Vajpayee is battling for life and remains on advanced life support at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences for the second day, hospital officials said on Thursday.