So … I came in here early morning to Kolkata for the promotions of ‘Aarakshan’ and went drove straight to the press conference in the Park Hotel - a hotel on the most exciting street of urban Calcutta then in the 1962’s and on. This Hotel was built in front of our eyes in those early days. Its ground domain was the more popular area in those heady days of the very first job and freedom. Trinka’s, Moulin Rouge, Mocambo, Blue Fox, Flurys … the list was endless … all in one row all within hopping distance of each other, all our evening haunts after office. The Sunday Jam Sessions in Trinka’s being the prime destination and one where it would be difficult to get even standing space. It was a carefree spirit, a spirit of doing what one wanted to and wherever, with the simplicity of being one of the others.

And today as I drive in with a convoy of staff and security and am taken up to my room before the conference, I look out of the window and find myself staring at the street in front of me - Russell Street and a little further down the Clacton Apartments, where six of us shared one room - 10′x 12′ and had the happiest moments of our stay in this wonder city. During the 7 years that I spent here in Kolkata, did I ever imagine that I would find myself in such a situation 40 years down the line ? The answer is an emphatic no ! But fate is a frightening thought. It mitigates all else and positions one in circumstances that one would never even have imagined !!

The conference went well, the exit a bit enthusiastic and boisterous, but all in all satisfying. Next stop St Xaviers College, the most prestigious and renowned academic location in the entire eastern region of this state and country. Star News was doing a study of the moment with discussion and debate and filming it as part of a relay in the days to come.

The enthusiasm and passion that a Kolkatan possesses is their most vocal quality and they exhibit it with great freedom towards their celebrities. Thank you Kolkata for your great love for us mortals and for bringing back to me the most wondrous nostalgia of the past , the city itself …

There is such a flood of material and emotion that flows through as I sit and reminisce  those glorious days of the past. Time is short yet again today and I shall elaborate on some other day. For the moment though I shall leave you with just my signature and the hope of being with you again soon ..

Love to all ..

Amitabh Bachchan