German children of Mahatma Gandhi School in Berlin sprang a pleasant surprise on visiting Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee by singing a song written by him and Gandhiji's favourite bhajan 'Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram'.

So moved was the prime minister that he immediately reciprocated with a gift -- a two-week all expenses paid trip to India for the best student of the school every year.

The children were part of a reception organised in Vajpayee's honour by the Indian community. T C A Rangachari, Indian ambassador to Germany, was also present.

The evening programme began with the recitation of his song 'jeevan beet chala...' followed by the bhajan.

Taking the floor, Vajpayee said it was nice to be reminded that he had written such a song.

Vajpayee said he had penned another song 'jang nahi hone denge...', which was recalled by former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharief when the two met in Lahore. "But there was a conflict (Kargil) immediately," he said. "Strange are the ways of the world."

Referring to the age-old ties between India and Germany, Vajpayee said perhaps there are more people speaking Sanskrit in Germany than in Delhi.

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What do you think about the story? Read what others have to say: Number of User Comments: 3 Sub: message on this article Gandhi and his phylosophy is more relavant today than ever before. It is sad that in the land of Gandhi still the violance is continuing ... Posted by Dr.AN.Ganeshamurthy Sub: Can India afford this? Its very nice that these children sang P.M's poems and he was moved by it. But to award scholarship to German people when many Indians ... Posted by pirki420 Sub: German kids surprise Vajpayee A similar incident happened in Sep'02 when the German Foreign Minister, Mr.Fischer was on a state visit to New Delhi. He visited the Max Mueller ... Posted by Gaurav