TAAI award for ‘India’s Best Tourism Deppt Amongst All States for Year 201

those are the two awards that I got for BigStar .. clutching them close to me … !!

Jalsa , Mumbai      Dec 19/20,  2011           Mon/Tue  12 : 26 AM

  

And the Sunday well wishers .. waiting from the early hours and then finally as the light fails surging forward through the gates .. wonder if in all this you can spot some Ef .. ah ! had to rescue them out .. cooled them off, some soft drinks some pictures and then they went off .. emotional moment !!

the final trophy given by Tina Bhabhi, Tina Ambani and Dhanush of ‘Kolaveri ..

 and that is Dhanush in an impromptu Kolaveri sung live for me, with changed words .. so touched .. !!

Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Ranbir .. always a joy to be with them … actually Ranbir has to come over for a dinner date with me and I have not been able to call him over .. shall shortly !!

Sir,

You will be glad to know that Gujarat Tourism won the prestigious annual TAAI award for ‘India’s  Best Tourism Deppt Amongst All States for Year 2011′ from Union Tourism Minister Subhodh Kant Sahai in Mumbai on saturday.Gujarat scored over other nominees Kerala and MP for this annual award.Gujarat tourism growth is 14 percent, twice that of national growth rate.    

This has been possible because of our  campaign ‘ Khushboo Gujarat Ki’.  Your contribution to the success story , is immense. Many thanks to you. 

Now that was from the Secretary Tourism Gujarat and it needs to be mentioned here that this is some achievement. Despite all the baseless criticism that came my way – that I was being paid large sums of money, that this was in lieu of favors done for me by the Gujarat Government and on and on and on .. But .. the system that was most vociferous in their tirade were the ones that now acknowledge it and offer awards in person.

In life as in many other aspects it is important to do your job well and sincerely. The rest follows on its own. Silence in such circumstances was never so loud and shall always be, come what may.

I wish to extend my apologies first for not posting this in the morning as promised. Sudden pressures of work came along and that prevented me, but I am here now and am excited that I connect well today.

I was wondering if you could spot Renate and the Ef gang in the mass of crowd .. really not recommended that they do this … it does get a bit wild at times .. But all the same it was great to be with them again and spend a few minutes cooling off from the pushing and shoving that was going on by the gate !!

I was on my Twitter account earlier in the evening and was contemplating on various issues that were erupting in my mind about civility, up bringing, cultured behavior and how they define the attitude and character of the human. Of rationality and integrity and why if you cannot possess them then those that do shall always find themselves out of place. For them it would not make any difference – they were never going to know refinement. But its always those that know that suffer, and bear. Maybe that too is individual destiny.

So for those that are not on my Twitter account may I request you to be there, so you could connect at times with what may have transpired earlier. And … it would raise the bar as far as the number of followers was concerned ! Would be great if that went up exponentially … we are at 1.77 million odd, need to propel it further.

Do you think I might expect that from you ??!!

Good night then and sleep well ..

Amitabh Bachchan

There has been greater recognition today again at another Awards night

Jalsa , Mumbai          Dec  18/19 ,  2011     Sun /Mon  1 : 24 AM

 There has been greater recognition today again at another Awards night. There has been the overflowing love and affection of the Sunday fans at Jalsa. There has been another emotional meet with the Ef, led by Renate at the gates of the Sunday fans, crushed, pushed, loss of shoes and a mobile .. but the joy of meeting up with them .. There has been Dhanush singing live for me ‘kolaveri di .. ‘ at the Awards but with different words to suit the occasion. There has been the meetings with colleagues of importance and great standing.

And all of this is in pictures to justify which due to the paucity of time I am unable to post tonight. But I shall tomorrow at the first sounds of the traffic !!

I must get to bed and to the gym tomorrow morning. The body lacks energy and it needs the tread mill, the weights, the breathing .. and more !

So for tonight I shall say a warm ending .. but with the promise of being with all of you again in the morning hour ..

Love to all …

Amitabh Bachchan

After the awards and the special inspiration derived from a wonderful evening,

Jalsa , Mumbai           Dec 17/18 , 2011       Sat/ Sun  1 : 11 AM

 After the awards and the special inspiration derived from a wonderful evening, a late night was spent in bed at Sopaan and reminiscing the days spent in the Delhi winters, either back from Sherwood or at University. Those early morning sprints from my gate to catch the Univ Special at Teen Murti, the residence of the Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru, a round about bearing statues of the soldiers that fought and sacrificed their lives for the country … and on to South Avenue, the MP quarters where we were first resident of. 77 was the number. Those wonder days of coming to the Capital from small town Allahabad and everything looking so large and magnificent. The rush from our 77 to the main avenue each time Pandit ji ( Jawaharlal Nehru ) drove past to office and then back. Sitting there in a large black limousine, pilot in front, and in pensive mood, a hand up by his face in deep thought. the College days and the freedom of doing what one wanted. The visits to adjoining colleges and canteens, the cricket grounds, the back alleys of the bazaar behind our campus, the lunch hour cucumber delicacies with salt and pepper, our own canteen and the non stop table tennis that followed within.

The excursions with Mother to the Bengali Market for the most delicious ‘chaat’ in the world and the sweet meats. The ‘parathe wali gali’ in Chandni Chowk, the mad drives during College hours with our gang of class bunkers to the excavations and the ruins beyond Kutub Minar, Tughlakabad. The winter sun in the afternoon, the incredible smell of the ‘har shringar’ flower, white with orange stems and the cherry blossoms in the back yard of our lawn. The fire place by the night, ghost stories over new year and just the coming together of family and friends wrapped around in warm blankets by the burning embers !

And then without much fuss or delay the summer season would be upon us with its unbearable heat and high temperatures. The unaffordable airconditioning giving place to the ‘khus’ curtains on the doors, sprinkled with water at short intervals, or a block of ice placed in front of a table fan to cool off the nights. The hot breezes in the day – the ‘loo’ – beating down upon us and the elders warning us against stepping out for the fear of sunstroke. Those first drops of rain after an eternity and the warmth of the earth coming out in vapors, sleeping out in the open in the lawn, cooled now by the rains, and then to be woken up suddenly by that ‘baarish’ at night and all of us clambering on to the veranda along with our beds and bedding !

Such adventure, such simplicity, such trust … all gone now. We slept at night with our doors and windows open, the gates never shut, even when we were out in the lawn or on the roof top, for those were the regions that were the coolest. No security no guards, just a carefree life …

And now just before I have come up to write to you, each door checked and double checked, each window closed, locks and security personnel alerted, Shanouk in vantage post, phones and alarms by the side, incessant noise on the streets of traffic and people. There in Allahabad at night as you slept in the open, the only noise that came were from the jackals, the ‘siyaar’ in the distance, an indicator of how wild the region was. To express the solitude and quiet of the night, the oft used expression to signify the moment was – “arre wahan toh raat koh siyaar bolte hain ”  - all that you hear at night at that place are the calls of the jackals.

There was no fear of the night. For us youngsters it was a nightmare to be asked whilst sitting in the lawn to go into the house and put off a light that had been left on by mistake, and the apprehension it used to cause within us. Going was alright, it was the coming back after the light had been put out that was scary.

The night does this to us. The darkness of nature brings the elements of fear. The unseen at night has a story of its own, real perhaps at times but on most occasions built by humans in their minds. Apart from the jackals the only other sound that came was the sound of the ‘danda’ the large stick being slammed on the road by the night watchmen that kept awake on the streets calling out to each other on adjoining streets – ” Jaagte Raho ” .. keep awake !!

It is almost 2 am as I write and were this to be those times, I would have perhaps diligently followed what was being announced on the road, but I do share with my Ef their concern when I am up late. What can one do ? As soon as  I open the Word Process to jot down my thoughts to my Blog, I am the widest awake !!

My love to you and my prayers and my wishes and my gratitude for all that you mean to me ..

Amitabh Bachchan

CNNiBN Indian of the Year Awards 2011 Big B

Sopaan , New Delhi      Dec 16/17,  2011          Fri/Sat  1 : 51 AM

Anna Hazare greets me with his humble self, listened in by Dr Kurrien … what company I enjoy !!

The lovely Shweta and I enjoy a moment together .. Fathers and daughters have a special link do they not .. they at times even look so much alike !!

Ronjan Sodhi, world champion in trap shooting .. sharing a laugh because he confided his wife never accompanies him to the various award functions he goes to but came to this one when she heard I was going to be there. We laugh because when I walked up to meet his wife, which he had gently suggested on stage that I must, she had disappeared to the wash room .. I did though meet up with her as I departed, pushing my way through the crowds that converged soon after …

the fiery women from Manipur, the Manipur Women Gun Survivors Network (MWGSN) who resist the presence of the gun by the Army battalions there on duty and the guns of the insurgents in the state …

… and the ‘eloquent’ Lalu Prasad Yadav, seated next to me, responds to Anna on stage on his take on who the Indian of the Year should be ..

Its been a glorious night at the CNNiBN Indian of the Year Awards. Yes we won, the team KBC and yours truly, but what a galaxy of great stalwarts of the country coming together on one platform and giving an inspiration and strength of a lifetime to viewers and the country.

One cannot describe what it feels like to be standing side by side with Mamta Banerji, Chief Minister of West Bengal, a colleague of mine in the Parliament when I was there and who single handedly, despite being a woman defeated the mighty Communist power in the State after over 30 years of their rule ; Dr Kurrien, that indefatigable entrepreneur who started the milk revolution in the country, making it the largest in the world ; Anna Hazare and his social movement to rid the country of corruption ; the fiery gun survivor campaigner from Manipur ; sportsmen of the greatest merit – Dhoni, Yuvraj, Ronjan Singh Sodhi the world champion in shooting ; army navy and air force Generals who fought and won great wars for the country against Pakistan and in the liberation of BanglaDesh ; stalwarts in business Mr Shanghvi ; Yesudas that singer with the divine voice and with all of them the equally prominent presenters and guests …

An evening filled with a very strong emotion, a concern and a wish to be able to do something for the country after seeing and hearing the impassioned voices from all these very committed personalities.

When you look back at what you have contributed and compare it with what the co winners tonight did, you cannot but feel a sense of guilt, when efforts are compared. It makes one conscious of the fact that these great people sacrificed their self in the honor and integrity of the country. They did not care for themselves, they cared for the nation and their sacrifices for it cannot but remain inspirational.

Its been a warm night within … in thought and temperament, but a cold Delhi winter outside. Actually not cold cold, but a tolerable cold ..

Be safe, be warm and be with me in love …

Amitabh Bachchan

Launch the polio campaign for UNICEF Big B

Jalsa , Mumbai          Dec 15/16 ,  2011       Thu/Fri  2 : 41 AM     

 Ok … so its late .. 2 : 41 in the morning … so what ?? Any time is good time for the Blog and the Ef. Pushed to the wall with work. Had to submit an article for the Outlook magazine and since tomorrow morning was the deadline – they always have deadlines – I needed to write it tonight. The things one has to do for media !!

 So I dressed up in my smartest suit I could pick up in the early hours of the morning after the gyming and went across to the Novotel Hotel, by the sea, a stones throw away from Jalsa, to launch the polio campaign for UNICEF. A most fulfilling morning it was, because each speaker from the Government to the officials at WHO and Unicef were all praise for my efforts at bringing polio to a most respectable level in the country through our campaigns. This year we have not had any reported cases of polio and there has been only one case in West Bengal. The generally vulnerable states have been UP and Bihar and there were none from there, which is some achievement. There is an expectation that by the February of next year India shall be completely free from Polio. Yeaaaaaahhhh !!

At last something that I did worked out fine !!

CNN-IBN has nominated me for the Indian of the Year in the Entertainment segment and I shall be travelling there tomorrow for it. Who knows, I may win !! Sorry about that … am in a sleep deprived, over worked syndrome mood and it generally ends up by being funny or attempting to be funny. My attempts so far have not even been considered to be such ..

Hey its actually getting a bit chilly in here .. I mean Mumbai … feel it in the air !! Hmmm .. wonder what Delhi would be like then … freezing !! Love Delhi in winter .. the air the atmosphere the flowers the smell of potent coffee in the lobby of Hotels and restaurants … warm clothes, scarves and woolies … and then one wonders in dismay .. what of those that live off the streets and shiver in front of homemade fires on the street from the trash !! Sad state ! … No more then of this .. one must slumber well or else ..

But not before you get to see some of me in the morning of today .

Good night and may god bless all of you ..

Amitabh Bachchan