Amitabh Bachchan - A man of many talents

Dear Mr Amitabh,

I wonder which are of your many avatars you have donned are more alluring? As an actor with brilliant histrionic skills or as a presenter with deep bass voice quality or as a human being with your intrinsic ingrained modesty and humility or as a blogger with your effortless narration of articulating your innermost thoughts and impressions to various stimuli that affect you ?

I must say that I am overwhelmed by your writings on your blog. Do you write all this yourself – with spell check, grammar etc? How do you get time to do that and even to respond to the comments of your avid readers? Alternatively, do you narrate your thoughts to your editorial blog team who structure it in the form of ghostwriter? This does not seem possible. Those who have seen you interacting in the media realize that your writings on the blog are genuine mirror reflection of your thoughts and expressions. Perhaps you are seeking to reach your roots, to your rich legacy that you have inherited from your father- a sensitive, prolific poet and writer.

I have met you - rather seen you closely - in your most difficult and trying circumstances. It was at Bed no 1 in ICU of Breach Candy hospital where you fought a herculean battle to escape from the jaws of death. I was trainee engineer then and was involved with a team of engineers that were responsible to equip ICU with new monitoring systems. Your bed had an extension to accommodate your protruding legs as you lay helplessly at the mercy of medicine, machines, doctors, nurses and countless blessings of your fan followers. Your room window faced Arabian ocean and had Ganesha idol placed on its sill. The image of this benevolent almighty, protecting and surviving you must have stayed with me. It was ironical that after nearly 25 years, I had to return to the same settings when my father was admitted on Bed No 1. Everything was the same including the team of doctors under Dr Faroukh Udwadia, and nursing staff under strict discipline of Sr. Amaria. I was too naive or just helpless to believe that Ganesha placed by me on the windowsill would again come to our rescue but alas, it did not happen.

During your recovery phase, I again happened to meet you in the pulmonary function laboratory where Dr Jamshed Sonawala had brought you to test your lungs. I was shocked to see you as a frail person with shrunken body mass with beard that had more salt than pepper. Your throat still had the dressings to protect you from the infection due to Tracheotomy procedure. When you uttered the words, only faint feeble echoed voice came out of it. Very different from the movie setting where your voice would charge the audience. Despite all this, your eyes reflected a glint – your curiosity to know about the technology was admirable. You were amazed with the technological marvel of the computing machine that sketched power of your lungs. You asked Mr Shetty -technician of the pulmonary function laboratory to explain the machine. I was standing at the back wondering if you would ever be normal healthy person and work to regain your status of a movie star. You were about to be wheeled outside the room when you realized of not acknowledging my presence. You turned around and shook my hand with smile. Subsequent days, I saw you progressing rapidly. By now, you were sitting reclining on your bed enjoying frosty waves of Arabian Ocean on black rocks while Ganesha was still at the windowsill.

If you suffered physical agony during the days of Breach Candy, its mental suffering that you are facing in recent days. I could feel your pain and anguish as you wrote about your financial succor to Marathi people in need or your leanings towards Maharashtrians. You are an embodiment of humility and it must have been tough for you to state your philanthropic acts to douse the raging fires of ' anti Marathi' by insensitive individuals and media.

Your writing on your 'mother' reflected subtle and sublime qualities that were nurtured by your parents to make you a fine individual endowed with spectrum of skills. Your writings reflect how powerful and important is the 'parental upbringing and how crucial is the 'home ambience' to shape raw qualities of children and enrich them with qualitative nuances. When Michelangelo Buonarroti sculpted David, the white marble of Carrara too must have felt the pain and endurance as it was chiseled to carve out an exquisite masterpiece. Today, you too, must be gratified for your parents who used all the tools in their harness to make their son a model for millions.

My friend Mr. Chandurkar is lavish in his praise of your family. ‘A cultured family to the core'. He sums it. I agree with him. Those who are not fortunate to have interacted with you are those unfortunate souls who have subjected you to calumny, slander and denigration of character and deeds.

I am happy that your blog is a window for all those who wish to peep in your heart and mind. I doubt some of them would ever do so as they are blinded by their own goals of self-aggrandizement using violence, torture and mayhem. Mr. Amitabh, your blog is part of my existence as has been with countless others. I look forward to reading your cherished experiences and your thoughts as they pour like a streak of honey - rich in contents and consistent in quality.