There is a certain romance in seeing the sun rise from behind the hills or mountains. Its the most inspiring picture that has always remained with you through the entire ages right from the time you held the first crayon color pencils in your hand and were asked to scribble and draw whatever came to mind. As the young kindergarden kid, the picture you painted was always of the hills, a semi round circle representing the sun coming out from behind it and the rays it emitted drawn in straight lines out from the circular sun, a tree with thick branches, and a little hut with the odd bird flying somewhere in the distant horizon …

Images like this remain with you until you actually experience it live. This morning at 6 AM that is exactly what one saw. Miles of undulating valleys and hills and from behind one of them the ‘soorya devta’ appearing in all its bright glory, to lighten the world and to give us the energy of the day.

Symbolized mythologically as the giver of knowledge, the God Hanuman once went to the Sun to gain some of it for himself. The Sun answered him by saying it will be difficult to impart knowledge to him since was continuously moving. And Hanuman in all his humility responded, that it was and will be no problem fo him, since he would walk backwards in front of the moving sun, and gain the teachings that the Sun God would impart as he moved along. Symbolical ? Yes the symbolic essence of the story is the need to get up from your night rest and sleep, before the sun rises, in order to be knowledged and worthy .. !!

A bit of a misnomer for todays’s generation I guess, that actually prides itself in following quite the opposite. They follow behind the Sun and I am not sure whether they do have the capacity to gain the knowledge that is required of them …

Simple stories narrated in simple examples went a long way to describe without any issues what society had prescribed for them. Not all are happy with this prescription, for they feel they are not diseased enough to be put on to any kind of medication. Fair enough. But we shall remember it always because it came from our elders.

There is time now to catch up on lost sleep. The schedule in Gujarat involved early morning wake up calls, miles and kilometers of road driving before reaching destinations, working on the shootings, driving back and settling in to a new bed and a new environ each day. It can become disorienting at times. The rapid change in our night halts, at various Circuit Houses and Hotels, the fresh beds would throw us. You get up in the middle of the night and walk to the wrong side of the room thinking it to be the one where you were the previous night. But it is not. Embarrassing to say the least, but there …

The miles and miles of driving on roads straining the back, the sliced fingers after the kite flying, the physical walks on difficult terrain, has all been of the past now. Though I must say it was most enjoyable. But really, Saputara, the hill station needs to be seen during the monsoons when all is green and lush and freshly washed and laundered. I shall soon after this Monsoon !!

In the cricket the Indian Team for the T20 in Australia has finally come to terms with its strength and possibility, and WON the second game today by a huge margin. The write ups in the media that till now had castigated the boys in blue, and left them with no hope at all, barring a few, shall tomorrow morning be full of praise and congratulation. There cannot be any other after having performed so well.

Tomorrow shall be the eve of Abhishek’s English calendar birthday and it shall be wonderful to see him grow another year, with additions and all ..

My love to all ..

Amitabh Bachchan