NEW YORK: It was an evening one rarely gets to experience. An evening of listening to illustrious Indian poet the late Harivanshrai Bachchan's poems - recited by none other than his son, the film legend Amitabh Bachchan himself.
Bringing his father's poems to life as he took the audience through the many emotions that he wrote with, Amitabh Bachchan that evening was not a star, but the worthy son of a literary genius. The event was 'Bachchan Sandhya' at the Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall in Manhattan, and the occasion, Harivanshrai Bachchan's centenary celebrated by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, USA, to coincide with the 60th Independence Day of India.
Although many of the more than 1000 people in the audience expected a more 'entertaining show' since Amitabh was joined on the occasion by son Abhishek and daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai, the evening was entirely dedicated to Harivanshrai and his works.
"I am not qualified to talk about my father's writings," Amitabh said, fondly remembering his father. "He was a very simple man, born in a very poor family, struggled a lot, but remained an extremely disciplined man." The actor narrated several anecdotes from his childhood which reflected the many aspects of his father's writing prowess, strong determination and humanity.
The poems he read out were selected from the nine volumes of his father's works including the famous 'Madhushala', an anthology of 135 verses. On the occasion, a biography of the writer written by close family friend Pushpa Bharti was released by Amitabh Bachchan.
Thereafter, a dance drama which translated some of Harivanshrai's poems into fluid movements of the Kathak style was presented by Bhaswati Sharma and her troupe.
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