Bachchan's pay homage to Harivanshrai

Monday, November 27, 2006
On 27th November when the Big B celebrated his father the late Harivanshrai Bachchan 's 99th birthday , he made some subdued but nonetheless momentous plans for the occasion.

Revealing these plans the Big B says, "Normally we've a kavi sammellan in Lucknow initiated some years ago by Shri Atal Vajpayee who's a huge fan of my father's works. This year we're bypassing the kavi sammellan. My mother is critically ill. And none of us are in the mood for public events."

Instead the entire family is to collect at Varanasi to pay a homage to the Bachchan patriarch. "Jaya is already shooting for Pradeep Sarkar's film in the Holy city. I will join her on the 27th. Abhishek who's shooting in Delhi will come to Varanasi with his sister. We'll be conducting a special puja at 2 am followed by another puja the next morning."

Also joining the family in Varanasi were the Big B's brother Ajitabh Bachchan and his daughter Namrata .

"My niece Namrata writes poetry. She's also a painter. Obviously she's the artiste in the family," says the Big B with obvious pride. "For my father's centenary next year Namrata will be translating his poetry. We're planning an English re-print of Madhushala as well as new English editions of his poetry ."

He pauses to ponder before concluding, "I want my father's 100th birthday to be something special. But this year, just the small family puja in Varanasi will have to suffice."

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