MUMBAI : Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray cancelled his customary birthday address to supporters and stayed home to celebrate the event on Tuesday.

To mark his 80th birthday as well asthe party's foundation day, the Sena mouthpiece Saamna came out with an 80-page edition. It included a special 68-page supplement that carried tributes to Mr. Thackeray by actor Amitabh Bachhan, former Pakistan cricketer Javed Miandad, singer Asha Bhonsale, Bharatiya Janata Party leaders L.K. Advani and Nitin Gadkari, and industrialists Rahul Bajaj and Mukesh Ambani.

A frontpage announcement said that owing to his poor health and for security reasons Mr. Thackeray would be unable to meet anyone. The notice advised people to deposit the money they would spend on flowers or garlands in a box outside his house, `Matoshri,' at Bandra here.

Small groups gathered outside the residence since morning. Though party workers were not allowed to meet him, Mr. Thackeray waved to them through a window. Among those who greeted him were BJP leader Gopinath Munde and Sena leader and former Lok Sabha Speaker Manohar Joshi. At a function at the Sena Bhavan, the Shiv Sena and its poll ally, BJP, released their manifesto for the February 1civic polls.

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