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| Getting into the car would be an opportunity for many devotees to get His blessings. |
By 3:00 pm we were back in our rooms and we decided to rest a bit extra. Since the morning session had got extended quite a bit, we were quite certain that the evening session would be delayed . Thus, all of us got ready leisurely by 4:00 pm. We were being pampered with such rich food and such service from the volunteers that, I felt, each day I might be putting on half a kilo! In that light, it was amazing that Swami, after so many years of such treatment, still maintained His figure and weight! I understood better the meaning of absolute control over senses and not falling victim to the taste buds.
It was nearly 4:50 pm when Swami came out of His room in the evening. We were all assembled in the lift landing area and as soon as Swami told us to move in, we went in for tiffin. As Swami sat at the table, He enquired as to what the programme today was. AIP was a bit hesitant to mention the evening’s programme at the Dwarka grounds after it had been cancelled yesterday. Thousands had gathered today also at Dwarka grounds and it appeared as though AIP wanted to somehow push it through today. He said that there was a Bhangra programme and that would be followed by the Sufi singer, Hans Raj Hans.
“After that, we can have the boys programme”, he quickly added obviously hoping that the addition of “boys programme” will make Dwarka grounds more attractive for Swami.
{This is the 10th part of an ongoing series. You can read the previous part at this link:
Or you can read from the beginning of the serial where each part is linked to the next. The link to Part 1 is here:
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| The meditation hall attached to the Sri Sathya Sai International Centre. |
Swami then looked at Ashwath and P.Sreenivas and wanted to know the programme. They went to Him with a list of the songs they had planned to sing. Swami saw through the list and He seemed particularly interested in Rama Nannu Brovara. Seeing that Swami had permitted these boys, AIP was very eager have the evening programme frozen. So he went to Swami again, “Swami, firstu Bhangra dance chestharu........tharuvatha, mana pillalu...” (Swami, first they will do Bhangra and then... our boys...”)
He stopped, trying to formulate the next part of his sentence after seeing Swami’s response. Swami looked at him and continued, “Mana pillalu...? Dance chesthara?” (Our boys? Will they also dance...?)
All burst out laughing. That ensured that the mood was light and nice for the AIP too as the tiffin session concluded. Swami told all of us to wash hands and get into the cars. Thus began the long journey to the Dwarka grounds. The convoy was given VVIP status and clearance. In spite of that, we took almost 40 minutes to reach the venue. Just made me wonder as to how the traffic had grown in the Capital city! The traffic was so heavy that the cars that were in the latter half of the convoy got cut off and were left behind. It was a totally Toyota convoy - Toyota Corollas and Toyota Innovas being led by the Toyota Estima! I took quite a few convoy shots in the fading light of the evening.
It was almost 7:00 pm when Swami arrived at the Dwarka grounds. The artiste for the evening, Hans Raj Hans, was standing with a rose to welcome Swami. As Swami came out of the car, a seva dal member offered a rose to Him. Then the artiste came forward and bowed to Swami. Swami seemed so happy seeing him and He blessed him with a beautiful smile. He accepted the rose and gave it back to Him. Swami moved to the upper stage. On the lower stage, the one on which He had sat watching the drama, a group of lads performed the bhangra dance to mark the occasion of Baisakhi. Personally I felt that the dance was slow and without much vigour, but then, the Lord always sees the efforts made rather than the results produced. The dance lasted about ten minutes.
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| Hans Raj Hans offers a rose and his salutations at the Lotus Feet. |
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| The Bhangra performance before the concert. |
Once the dance was complete, at about 7:20 pm, the singer took centre stage. He offered his gratitude and salutations to Swami before he began. The performance was a memorable one for both the singer and the audience. The Sufi songs were profound and rich with meaning. The flautist who accompanied the singer did a phenomenal job. In the beginning, I felt thrilled listening to the meaning and power of the singing. But after a while, it became a little repetitive and monotonous. The whole performance lasted a bit more than half an hour and after that, Swami called the artiste.
