Rajnikanth's humility!

Rajnikanth dedicates Dadasaheb Phalke to bus driver, Raj Bahadur.

While accepting the Dadasaheb Phalke award at the 67th National Film awards ceremony, superstar Rajnikanth said, "I dedicate this award to my bus driver friend in Karnataka, my colleague Raj Bahadur. When I was a bus conductor, he was the one who identified acting talent in me and encouraged me to join cinema".

Raj Bahadur was earning Rs.400/- as his monthly salary then. When he forced Rajni to go to Madras and join acting school, he didn't send him empty handed. Every month, he would send Rs.200/- to Rajni. Rajni survived in Madras out of this money for around 2 - 3 years.

For all the Rajni fans, Raj Bahadur is a known name. A simple, humble man living in one of the lanes in Chamarajpet area of Bangalore, he was the guardian angel that pushed Shivaji Rao Gaekwad to become Rajnikanth. It is he who taught Rajni to speak Tamil fluently.

No matter how big a star, Rajnikanth to his best friend is the same man who used have never ending conversations about everything under the sun. Rajni always pays surprise visits to Raj Bahadur's house. He visits in disguise to avoid public haze and arrives at wee hours and knocks on the door. No phone calls, no messages, just hops on to a flight and land's at the friend's doorstep. Theirs is a friendship of 50 years. There is a room in Raj Bahadur's house, reserved for Rajni.

It is a simple small room with a single cot and enough space for another person to sleep on the floor. Whenever Rajni comes, both friends shut themselves inside the room and speak for hours. Raj Bahadur sleeps on the cot while Rajni sleeps next to him on the bed laid on the floor. It has been like this for years. The friend and his family give Rajni the desired privacy.

Raj Bahadur is Rajni's man Friday even to this day. Whether it is decisions about joining or not joining politics or any personal matter, Rajni never takes any decision without consulting Raj Bahadur. Rajni was the conductor of bus no. 10A that plied between Majestic to Srinagar. He lived in Hanumanthnagar and Raj Bahadur, in Chamarajpet. Both areas are close to each other. He had those stylish mannerisms even then. He used to flip the coin while giving to customers and entertain them during travel. Even after all these years, 77-year-old Raj Bahadur has only one best friend and the world calls him Thalaiva! One can certainly agree to this when the superstar chose to thank his best friend on the stage instead of his own family.

Source. News18.

Tailpiece.

Got up at 6, the chores and was ready by 10. Went to Ganesh store to buy sweets.

Participated in two back-to-back webinars in the evening which were :-

(a) Aazhchakkoottam : "The Science of Forecasting Weather" : Dr PS Biju, Director, IMD from 1600 - 1730 hrs. It was a nice presentation.

(b) Military Literature Festival, Lucknow : "Climate of Conquest and A Presentation on Lucknow Cantt" : Dr Pratyay and Sonal Mithal from 1830 - 1930 hrs. Interesting!