Big B Honours Abba With Jnanpith Award: Video And Pics

September 18, 2011 will be a special day for my family. My father Prof Shahryar received India's highest literary honour from the hands of Mr Amitabh Bachchan. I along with my wife Aarefa and daughter Insha reached Delhi on Sept 17. We stayed at the India International Centre. Abba joined us in the afternoon and was staying in the room adjacent to us. It is good to see his health improving somewhat. Hope it improves further. Inshallah. He had the option of having lunch and dinners with the biggest of dignitaries who had been calling him non stop. But he preferred a quiet meal with us rather than getting carried away by the humungous fan fare. He loves to have ice cream after food. He ensured that he has it anyway. I ensured, the quantum of ice cream is kept under check :)

My brother Humayun along with his wife Tina came from Dubai. Tina is from Germany and this was her first visit to Delhi. On September 18 afternoon Abba wore his plush suit looking radiant and very happy. Mashallah. We were happy to see him in this state. The Jnanpith Award function was held at the Indian Air Force Auditorium. Mr Bachchan said some wonderful things about Abba. It was obvious that Mr Bachchan had done his research and tried his best at understanding Abba's poetry. A book edited by Gulzar sahab, 'Shahryar Suno' was also unveiled at the function. Abba's speech as always, was precise and to the point. He speaks softly but what he says, carries a lot of weight. We celebrated with a lavish family dinner in his room later that night. The trophy presented to him is very heavy. The sentiments attached with the honour are even heavier. As I said earlier, September 18, 2011 will always be special and memorable for us. I am sharing the video and a few pics from this function. Hope you like it.