Rahman's concert, 76-kg cake: Mulayam's mega birthday bash

Party to celebrate its patriarch's 76th birthday in each of state’s 5,000 villages with Mayawati-like extravagance.

Samajwadi Party leaders across Uttar Pradesh have received orders from Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav to observe the 76th birthday of his father and party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav on November 22 in each of the state's 50,000 villages.

The Yadav clan has planned a huge birthday bash for the party patriarch in their native village Saifai in Etawah district.

The highpoint of the celebrations would be a live performance by Oscar winning music director A R Rahman, who will lead a 300-member troupe.

Other smaller events have also planned in several other important towns of the state.

It is said that the idea behind organising the celebrations on such a grand scale in villages is to reinforce the 'dhartiputra' or son-of-the-soil -- as he is popularly described by his partymen -- image of 'Netaji' Mulayam Singh.

It is interesting to note that the father-son duo has been strongly critical of high-profile birthday celebrations by Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati. The official splurge that came in for much criticism during the Mayawati regime is now being followed by the Samajwadi Party in letter and spirit now.

The events in Saifai will commence on November 21 evening. At midnight, 'netaji' will cut a huge 76-kg cake before a grand audience in the sprawling indoor athletics stadium.

Even as speculation was rife about some Bollywood bigwigs attending the Safai bash, sources close to the chief minister and the organisers have replied in the negative.

"No Bollywood star or celebrity is invited for the function. It is being hosted by local party workers who organise the annual Safai Mahotsava there," a top UP government official said.

"Even A R Rehman's concert has been organised by the same committee and the state government has nothing to do with the event," he stressed.

A grand kavi sammelan has also been planned on November 22 which will be attended by renowned Hindi and Urdu poets.

The Samajwadi Party chief and his family members will also take up a plantation drive in Saifai.

"We are organising the birthday celebrations for our party patriarch," said Vedvrat Gupta, secretary of the committee which organises the Saifai Mahotsav, the annual event organised by the SP in a grand manner at Mulayam's native village.

"And let me also tell you that neither Rahman saheb nor any other celebrity is charging any fee to perform in the event. All we are doing is to take care of their logistics," he said.

Yet, all government guest houses in and around Saifai -- a grand oasis in the heart of the badlands of UP -- have been blocked for 'VIP movement'. 

Much work was going on in these guest houses to give them a facelift in the same manner as the entire little town had been spruced up for the mega show.

The town has already been specially illuminated and the place looks brighter than ever. As many as 250 temporary toilets have been created to meet the needs of people reaching Saifai from all parts of the state.   

Just as the special cake is being transported all the way from Delhi, a high-profile caterer is also been engaged from the national capital.

No wonder, therefore, it will be a multi-cuisine affair that would include Thai, Italian as well as Chinese.

This is the first time that Mulayam’s birthday is being celebrated with an almost Mayawati-like extravagance.  

Except his 75th birthday, which was being celebrated by UP minister Azam Khan in his home district Rampur, Mulayam used to keep it a low-key affair even when he was the chief minister and the defence minister.

In 2014, however, Khan imported a very special Victorian 'buggy' from the United Kingdom for the leader, who was given a ride through the main thoroughfare of the otherwise sleepy, old town. 

When mediapersons asked from where the celebrations were being funded, Khan angrily mocked at them, saying, "Some funding has come from Abu Salem, some from Dawood and some from other terrorists."

Meanwhile, another senior minister and Mulayam’s confidante Rajendra Chaudhary, who moves behind Akhilesh like a shadow, has now issued a press release with a detailed life-sketch of the Samajwadi chief. He has sought to eulogise Mulayam as 'the greatest living socialist'.