Apologies for the absence of yesterday’s post. As you may have noticed I have travelled through land and countries and oceans and my journey is still incomplete. It will end at Kuala Lumpur later today. I transit now through squeaky clean Singapore and the first opportunity I get to open the Mac, I think of all my EF.

Good Morning..!!

The 12th was a day off from ‘Paa’, because the unit and all of us were traveling, but my efficient and concerned schedule department felt the day could be utilized to complete some urgent pending work and so there I was, early as hell at the studio again and thankfully not with any prosthetics !!

Aadesh Srivastava and myself as I had said earlier, have put to music and sung the Hanuman Chalisa. To promote this great devotional work we needed to shoot a visual and thats where I was in the studio. Govind Nihalani was shooting the video on a simple but elegant set at Film City. The atmosphere was calm and organized and we were done by 3 pm. Picked up Abhishek thereafter and drove into South Mumbai or SoBo for South Bombay asI refer to it generically. Though SoMu would now be more appropriate. Funny how such things get devised. SoHo, the more famous destination in NYC, I believe came about from South of Houston or is it Hudson. I wonder though, how that fits in with the SoHo of London..

Anyway the drive was to the Income Tax Office and it took forever. Started off at 3.30 and reached by 6 pm. We’re talking of the same city, people. Then when we returned it was another agonizing 2.30 hrs to be home. There really does not seem to be any solution to this traffic. Metros and sky trains are under construction and one only hopes they shall make existence easier.

Once home there was barely any time to do anything else but depart for the airport. So writing the post was out of the question, hence this.

The flight was pleasant and Singapore Airlines with their customary hospitality looked after me well. The flight though was turbulent throughout. Extreme CAT - clear air turbulence , kept me bouncing about in my seat, assisting me in bouncing off the glass of water kept on the side into a grilled crevasse of the aircraft. This was not good. For me or for the aircraft I would presume. What with all the complicated wiring that the body of the aircraft accommodates. My fears though were laid to rest soon when the engineer came over and cleared the air on this unfortunate incident.

Over the Bay of Bengal and particularly over and around the Andaman and Nicobar Islands I have often noticed that weather deteriorates. It is always cloudy. Is that the reason why it is called Kala Pani ; the continuous clouds causing the water to look black because of the reflection ??

Political prisoners that opposed the British Raj during the time when India was ruled by them, were sent to Kala Pani. A phrase commonly used for the Andaman and Nicobar Islands - far and distant from the mainland, without any hope of any kind of escape. The prison there is now an important monument of tourist interest. A landmark symbol in the fight for liberty and freedom by our people. I had been there once and seen this historic place, sailed around the waters of the many islands and indulged in deep sea diving. Fascinating and most exquisite !!

The Islands are a strategic post in the security of the nation. They virtually stand as rigid sentinels at the mouth of the Palk Straits, guarding any sea invasion that may occur from those quarters. During the time of the Communist Russian regime and the great friendship and relationship between our two nations, a part of the Russian fleet used to be parked there, at the tip of the Nicobar Isles. Parts of the Islands are still inhabited by native tribes who have due to the isolation lived in their own primitive world, not knowing or caring to know what goes on beyond their picturesque surroundings. Attempts made by the Indian Navy and the Army to enter those isles have been met with huge hostility ; attacked as they were by bows and arrows and sharp javelins, an indicator of the times they still exist in. Structurally they look from negroid descent and it is often wondered how ever did they manage to travel to the Andamans, away from mainland Africa, perhaps centuries ago. One of the distinct features in their structures has been their large and protruding posteriors, an element not found in any other part of the world. They are short and they live bare bodied.

The boarding has been announced and the gentle hostess comes to escort me..

I will rush.. more later..

My love

Amitabh Bachchan