Delhi-Simla Memories- Part 14 - Inaugurations galore at Shimla

Phaneendra aka Phani poses with Anand Vilas

Beautiful night lights

As darkness descended over our first night at Shimla, we were all resting in our rooms. One of the guys came rushing in and said,

“You must see the lights that have come on. It is a magnificent sight...”

It was truly awesome to see the mandir with all lights and decorations. Devotees were still moving about in the darshan grounds. Some of them were taking pictures. We too joined them, unable to resist the temptation to take some photos along with the building. Several solo and group photos later we retired into our rooms for rest. There were gift packages for us, placed on each of our beds. Each package contained a shawl, a muffler and a Himachali cap - traditional ‘warming’ gifts that made us so happy. We decided that we would wear these in Swami’s presence sometime. With joy in our hearts, we went to bed, reminiscing the wonderful events of the day.

The mandir in Shimla looks heavenly at night and it has representations of all the major religions on it.

A morning well begun

The 16th of April, 2010 would turn to be a historic day for the devotees at Shimla. Their Lord, who was visiting them after three decades, was to inaugurate the Ganesha temple, the school and the hostel. But at that point in time, we were all not aware of this.  We woke up in the morning comfortably. Though it was the peak of summer, we could still feel the cool morning air. In fact, we were thankful that there were no fans running in the rooms.

In a matter of an hour, we were all ready and dressed. A wonderfully sublime aroma wafted in the air. I walked out of the room and saw the happy faces of Phani and a few others as they were relishing the breakfast. Mouth watering, I too went out to nourish my Vaishvanara. It was amazing how the people so far up in North India had managed to conjure up so many items from a South Indian cuisine!(The cuisines in North and South India are very different in the masala used and ways of preparation.) We all devoured from our plates (and occasionally from the neighbouring ones too to get a ‘taste sample’ of another dish!). Breakfast plates in hand, everyone seemed to rush for gallery seats in the rooms from where one could admire the beautiful mountains. Ah! What an Alpine experience it was!

Shri Virbhadra Singh {the then Union Minister for Steel and currently Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh 
(as of December 2015)} brings his entire family for blessings.

After the breakfast, we moved up the slope to the mandir. It was huffing and puffing work for us to manoeuvre the slope and moreover, I was carrying the camera backpack! It was with admiration that I kept looking at the volunteers from Shimla as they pranced up and down the slope with ease. At times I even felt envious of them.

“The mountain air is thin. The oxygen levels are low compared to that of South India where I stay. These people have got used to it, their lungs have developed better and thus they perform better than me.” That was the consolatory thought for me and I was pretty convinced with my logic.

Delhi-Simla Memories- Part 12 - Divine promise to Simla fulfilled

The whole road leading out of the airport had been decked with Rangoli designs and flowers were spread beautifully all over the place. A host of children with welcome banners and boards awaited the divine arrival. As the car headed towards the main gate, we saw a set of children holding out placards, each with a letter, such that all of them together read as “WELCOME SAI”. We moved about taking some shots but very soon, we heard the news that Swami was landing. At exactly 11 am, the little aircraft landed on the airstrip. It had a magical effect on the crowds waiting outside. People began to shout jai jaikars and at random they began to sing bhajans aloud. These were all Swagatam bhajans and there was no mistaking the celebration that was ringing all around. The thrill that these devotees expressed was beautiful to witness.

The welcome that awaited the Lord at Shimla

Though we tried our best, CG and I were not let into the airport premises. This was inspite of the vociferous and heartfelt appealing that Arun Jain sir did on our behalf. The security seemed quite tight and adamant. The formalities of landing and Swami getting into His car took hardly 10 minutes and soon, Swami’s car was moving towards Anand Vilas, the Divine residence that had been built in Simla. It was after more than 3 decades that Swami was visiting this place. The present visit was the fulfillment of the promise that Swami had made in the April of 2007, via a letter addressed to the devotees of Simla.

{This is the 12th part of an ongoing series. You can read the previous part at this link:

Delhi-Simla Memories- Part 11 - From Sathya Sai School to Shimla finally

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:

Delhi-Simla Memories- Part 1 - Hello Delhi }

When He had last visited, He had freely roamed the place and devotees had been thrilled with close darshan. He had walked barefoot in many places in Simla and surrounding areas. (In case you wish to view some unforgettable moments from the 1973 visit, pick a copy of ‘Love Flows North’.)