Surprised? Atal Bridge has no photo of Atal Behari Vajpayee; Modi of course is there

By Rajiv Shah

I visited the much publicised Atal Bridge, opened in the memory of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee for the first time. It connects two sides of Sabarmati river in Ahmedabad. You can cross it walking. I knew of the bridge, around it so much of hype was created. I always thought it wasn't worth visiting, especially considering the fact that there was a ticket to take a stroll.

However, since I was accompanied by my NRI friends from New Jersey and they wanted to visit the flower show and thereafter the Atal Bridge, which is attached to it, I thought why not have first hand experience of the bridge, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 27, 2022.

Walking up the bridge, this was the biggest surprise I encountered: the Atal Bridge has no photo of the man after whom it has been named! Instead, a life size photo cutout of our honourable Prime Minister is on display. In the background one sees some illustrations of what all authorities think is "made in India". In foreground it's "Yah hai naya Bharat."

I wondered: why didn't they name it Modi bridge?

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BRICS ends, but Bangladesh's empty chair says more than any declaration

By Nava Thakuria The 18th BRICS Leaders' Summit, hosted by India at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on 12-13 September 2026, has concluded with leaders formally adopting the New Delhi Declaration. The gathering, themed "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability," drew Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and other leaders of the now 11-member bloc, along with heads of partner organisations such as ASEAN, the African Union and the Eurasian Economic Union. Diplomats had worked through the final hours to bridge differences — notably between Iran and the UAE over West Asian tensions — before the declaration was signed.

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By Rajiv Shah I was a little surprised to see how some of those whom I respect for taking a firm stand on patriarchal issues reacted to the manner in which they responded to the recent incident in Paris, in which women employees of the Eiffel Tower were asked to remain "invisible" on September 5 when 100 BAPS sadhus visited one of the world's top tourist destinations.

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