Manmohan Singh holds the balloon given to him by a reporter during the celebrations on board the special flight. (PTI)

Geneva, Sept. 27: The birthday boy wouldn?t cut the cake, so they did the honours for him, but he couldn?t refuse a slice.

If he didn?t have a bite, the others wouldn?t either.

So after a brief ?turbulence? ? the party being in mid-air ? the Prime Minister obliged.

If Manmohan Singh was bashful, the Air-India crew and journos on board the special aircraft Tanjore were determined to have a bash and make his 72nd birthday a memorable one. So out came the two-and-a-half-kg fruitcake as the plane headed for Geneva from New York.

Photographers clicked the cake but Singh would have none of it. Finally, on instructions from his media adviser Sanjaya Baru, an Air-India official cut it and distributed the pieces.

?According to school records, I am entering my 72nd year,? the Oxbridge-educated Singh said after the ?happy birthdays? were over and the Boeing 747-400 had left behind the rough patch in the skies.

?I really don?t know my birthday. This is the date mentioned in my school records,? he had said last night. He also told the accompanying reporters that President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi had wished him just before he boarded the flight in New York.

Asked what his thoughts were on this day, Singh, who was with his wife and daughter, said: ?I have received so much love and affection from our countrymen that I can never hope to repay even a fraction of that kindness.?

?At the fag end of my life, my own wish and prayer is that I should live up to the trust and confidence bestowed on me as best as I can,? the economist added.

?A year is a long period,? Singh said when a reporter asked him about his birthday resolution. He recalled the words of former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson that a weekend in politics is a long period of time.

?If I can impart a new momentum of dynamism to the management of India?s infrastructure, that will be my key priority,? he added.

On the changes since his last birthday, he said he was then the leader of the Opposition.

?Now, I am the Prime Minister. These are reflections of the revolution of our times.?

Singh said he had ?no confirmed indication? from his parents that this is ?really my date of birth?, but said this was the date mentioned in the school report card that Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf had presented him.

Musharraf, he added, had also gifted him a picture of the village in Pakistan where he was born and a picture of the school where Singh studied.

Both leaders had a good word for each other.

?I think he (Singh) is very much interested in peace. I have no reason to doubt his sincerity,? Musharraf told Newsweek in an interview, asked if the Indian Prime Minister was as committed to peace as Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the man he succeeded.

?I believe in General Musharraf we have a person with whom we can do business,? Singh said of the Pakistan President. Their September 24 meeting, he added, was a ?historic day?.

The Prime Minister said he thanked Kalam and his party chief for greeting him. Asked what gifts he got from his family, he shot back: ?I don?t celebrate my birthday.?

When a journalist asked if he had got a birthday card from them, he said: ?I don?t encourage them to do so.?

But he did not refuse the balloon a reporter greeted him with. He tossed it up and cupped it in his hands as the cameras clicked.