Saturday, March 26 2005 15:41 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Amid a shower of flower petals and dry colour, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee celebrated Holi, as party men, leaders and well wishers made a beeline for his residence in New Delhi to greet him on the occasion.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief L K Advani, smeared with Holi colours, was among the first persons to greet Vajpayee by sprinkling rose petals and some colour on the veteran leader.

Not forgetting the tragic events of the December tsunami, Vajpayee said, "The opportunity of reconstruction will instil fresh enthusiasm in people which will help forge unity." The poet-politician also recited a few lines from his composition 'Aao phir se diya jalaye'.

A steady stream of well-wishers, some beating drums and singing Holi songs, greeted the veteran leader as festive music added colour to the celebrations.

Among the leaders who greeted Vajpayee were former Union Ministers Murli Manohar Joshi, Vijay Goel, Rajiv Pratap Rudy and Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leader Nitish Kumar.

Former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha led the most colourful troupe of singers and musicians who sang Bhojpuri numbers to celebrate the festival.

Rudy, Sinha and Kumar brightened up the celebrations with an impromptu jig to the tunes of Bhojpuri songs.