Amitabh Bachchan's Official Blog

DAY 1583

Jalsa , Mumbai Aug 18/19, 2012 Sat/ Sun 2 : 59 AM

EID MUBARAK !! EID MUBARAK !! EID MUBARAK !! HAPPINESS AND PEACE ALWAYS !!

Jaishree Sharad … happy birthday and wishes for your continued success in your unique field. May this year and the many years to come bring prosperity and greater glory … love from all of us !!

Beauty elegance and creative finesse have an unbounded capacity to elate ones senses to the ultimate peaks. Surrounded by an excellent mixture of some of the brightest brains and those of immense social standing, housed in an environment of the most formidable taste, and you can feel the lift of your sagging jowls, wishing away some serious years off your age menu !

The book launch of ‘India Fantastique’, a unique document of some of the most exciting and astonishingly beautiful creative works down the years, of Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla, two of the most distinguished designers of our time, has been an evening one is not likely to forget in a long time. The color, the finesse of their designs, the intricacy of their workmanship, the quality of the material and its appropriate positioning, all have been put together over the years in matchless dimensions inside this exquisite book. And the presentation of it choreographed in much the same fashion as their works, has been today for me, a most memorable evening. Ensconced within the portals of the magnificence of ‘Antilla’, Mukesh Ambani’s palatial residence, decorated and managed with utmost efficiency to the smallest detail, has not just added to the evening, but set fresh pinacles of lavish hosting !

But above all the magnificence, the one factor that has made it most attractive to me tonight has been the Indianess in every breath that one took. From the ‘mogras’ to the dresses of the models, right down to the ladies and gents in the guest list, it has been a sea of Indian celebration. And for this I am most proud.

As a free country there is much that has been achieved, there is much that still needs to be achieved. There has been cynicism and negative posturing by many that look upon this country as one that never seems to recover or advance to the levels that other nations expect. For me, those that send out measures of expectation, are the ones that lack that ingredient, largely in themselves. It is not we that need help, they do ! Put yourself in our situations, live with us and our state, realize reality, ponder and then speak up, for I am certain that there shall be huge efforts that shall need to be made to even come out with a whimper !

Diversity has been our historical inheritance. No amount of effort from within or without shall ever succeed in trying to alter it. We live and prosper because of it. It is our hidden asset, our example for the rest of the world. I have worked in every corner of this great country, from North to South, from East to West and travelled among common trails, met spoken and observed my countrymen. No where have I ever encountered disrespect, disdain or hostility towards either individual or collective polity. Our strengths lie in this belief, and they are not as frivolous as many others may seem it to be.

Our combined beliefs and practices have ousted many an oppressor and we shall be more than prepared to oust them even now. Do not attempt to touch the fabric of our appearance because you find it fragile. The strength of its making is far superior than any other. Our materials are strong and lasting, and even if perchance you were to tear a slice from it, it shall be a momentary exercise in futility, for our fabric does have the ability to wrap itself around him that separates it from its mother body and throttle it into submission !!

‘India Fantastique’ may be the reflection of a materialistic form, but even there the material of the fabric is strong, lasting and most Indian ! Jai Hind !