Uttar Pradesh Urdu Akademi head Asifa Zamani will keep the Bakrid celebrations this week low-key at her household as a mark of respect for Atal Bihari Vajpayee, with whom she says her family shared a special bond.

Her late husband, former UP minister Aijaz Rizvi and Vajpayee knew each other from the days when the BJP was a fledgling party, Zamani told PTI. If the BJP leader happened to be in Lucknow around Eid, he used to drop in.