O ! The benefits of instant communication ! They sit in your hand, in your car, at the sets ; traveling, moving, catching wave upon wave of the invisible signals that carry billions and billions of high band width material, sifting aligning adjusting and finally through some magical technological genius, delivering.

I travel from one end of the Mumbai world to another. It is the marriage season and old friends and close associates celebrate weddings of their progeny. It is fitting then for us to be a part of that auspicious and joyous moment.

It takes a lifetime to get to one end and another, to the other. But communication saves the day. The trusted Mac opens the window of the world to us as we move at agonizing pace and allows me the luxury of a connect to the amazing EF..

As billboards and crowded streets wiz by at 90 frames per sec, a film technologic term for slow motion, I thumb out these words, as we bounce along. Partially though. Because now we are in Jalsa and about to retire.

Shoot was adequate. The prosthetics and make up timings are improving as is the ability to eat something with it on. My speech suffers whilst I am in the cover of the moulds. But it comes as an added advantage to the play in the character I portray.

Also, the production and assistants and directorial personnel seem to be working more efficiently. I could sense that some talking to was done. PC, the brilliant DOP on the film is an institution and a most revered technician. There are several maestros in photography in the country today that have passed through the training of this gentle giant. Gentle, till he blows a fuse. Then its 440 volts of thunder and lightning. Pun unintended.

Gini the lovely South African assistant on Cheeni Kum is back. She had left India to return home after some sad and unfortunate experiences of working here. I was surprised to see her and happy that she had overcome her previous distressing call.

Dominique and Christien from New Zealand and Los Angeles have done a marvelous job on the make up. Christien is an Academy Award winning artist and Dominique worked on Lord of the Rings. I am in exalted company. Natasha, who worked with SlumDog assists Dominique. They are diligent and caring and so so meticulous. Not a spot of paint will be out of place once they are done. Well once Dominique is done. Christien left last night after having initiated her and others to take over. I expressed my sorrows to Dominique when we lost the 20-20 to New Zealand in the cricket. But yesterday was another day of triumph for us as we beat them comprehensively in the ODI.

There is something very satisfying about cleaning up your room - office, bedroom, dressing area, cupboards. Its like a great burden that just shifted out of your sight. You actually feel physically lighter. And the greater satisfaction comes when the objects that have been nominated to move out of your domain permanently, find a place in a needed persons home. A few of the needy that I have been encountering for years at particular spots on my drive out to the studio, become beneficiaries. The smile on their faces as they receive clothes and shoes to wear, or material to cover their homes with, is the most endearing feeling for any human.

Some of the tales though of medical proportions, are disturbing. One wishes they never befall anyone, but they do. And with some regularity. An old and long standing staff member, now retired is helpless in the treatment of his wife. She is critical and the hospitalization is beyond the means he has accumulated some money for. He calls me for help. It is the saddest moment for anyone when he needs to ask for funds for the care of near and dear ones. It is even sadder to see them emotionally break down. I reassure him and take the entire responsibility of his wife’s treatment. He blesses me. Blessings are worth more than the billions one aspires to earn.

A similar fate has befallen a young man and his child of a few months. The little one has a defective heart and can only be cured through surgery. One that will be exorbitantly expensive for this meagre earning young man, recently married. I set up the treatment at the Escorts Hospital in Delhi, one which is among the few hospitals in the country that undertake such repair. The joy on the fathers face is what makes life livable. It is what gives us the strength to work and to achieve ; perhaps to be able to be of some help to a needy life.

The school in Barabanki for girls is finally getting under way. We had been bogged down by lack of permissions for construction from the Government. But it seems all that has been cleared and the work to build can start . I have put Jaya in charge of that. She is very good with all this, having already assisted in building a school in a village near by.

My promise to do something for my alma mater, Sherwood in Nainital has also been initiated. The school is now co educational, but the percentage of girl students is less, primarily because there is limited room to accommodate them in the college. I am now, in honor of the 50 years of the class of 1958, assisting in building dormitory accommodation for girl students so that a larger number is able to avail of the desired education.

Deepak my make up man has also explored the possibility of making an educational facility near by here and hopefully that should come through in the coming years. Meanwhile Yuvak Biradari, the organization I talked of earlier is feverishly working with the funds I made available to them for the benefit of the poor. Soon I shall be in a position to fill you in on all those details.

The satisfaction of giving happiness to others is nothing short of succumbing to the powers of divinity.

When you comment on your joy at connecting through the blog with me, I rest my head on my pillow with a smile and a deep sense of gratitude. Gratitude not for what I did. Gratitude to the Almighty, that He gave me the ability to do it..

My love and more…

Amitabh Bachchan