Delhi-Simla Memories- Part 10 - Hans Raj concert, dinner at Cheemas and blessings to sevaks

Getting into the car would be an opportunity for
many devotees to get His blessings. 

 Another programme at the Dwarka grounds

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:

Delhi-Simla Memories- Part 9 - Baisakhi grace and beautiful dinner

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 }

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.

Hans Raj Hans offers a rose and his salutations at the Lotus Feet. 

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.

Delhi-Simla Memories- Part 4 - Drama at Dwarka

Sathya Sai is a silent worker - whether we realize it or not!

A revelation during tiffin

Swami was already at His table as we made our entry into the dining hall. On seeing us, He told us to enter. Even before we reached our chairs, He asked us what we saw during the outing. Jagdish Kanadia answered Swami on our behalf with one word - Qutub Minar. 

“What is that?”

That query was an opportunity for many to enjoy the bliss of Sambhashanam with Swami.

“A long Stambham (pillar) Swami!                                  “

“It’s a tall structure.”

“... a historical building with many intricate carvings...”

As the explanations went on Satyajit stepped in and summarised our outing.

“Swami they went to Qutub Minar, India Gate and the Rashtrapati bhavan.”

Sai Krishna added, “We saw the parliament house too.”

“You went into the parliament?” Swami seemed amazed.

“No Swami, we saw it from outside only.”

Swami then asked CG and Prabhakar as to what they saw. Prabhakar thought Swami was asking him where he came from and so, said, “Hyderabad.”

Swami smiled.

“You saw Hyderabad and came?”

All of us smiled too. Even the slightest of Swami’s smiles become a source of mirth for everyone. That, I felt, is the capability of the divine. Since it is absolutely selfless and giving, even it’s smile spreads so spontaneously top everyone.  

The tiffin session then began with the usual Brahmaarpanam. As we ate, Swami gently prodded Sai Krishna to induced Him into chatting with us. It began with Swami asking him as to where he had been. He said the same answer. When Swami asked  Devasenapati’s father as to where he went, Sai Krishna answered on his behalf,

“Swami he too came with us. We all were together.”

Sai Krishna then continued,

“Swami when you visited North India in 1973, You went to Delhi, Mogha and Shimla. In the films shot during those times, Swami is seen walking so fast amidst all the devotees.”

I realized that Sai Krishna was using the first few lines of his Telugu commentary in the Sai Blossom DVD titled, Love Flows North. For those who did not know this, his words came like a spontaneous flow of beautiful Telugu!

Swami began His elaborate response,

“Yes! At that time, the visit was for ten days. I had stayed at the place of the Gwalior Rani(queen) also. Many people had come to see me. On one side, it was all turbans (the headgear of the people of Punjab and Haryana) and on the other side, it was all burkhas (the dress worn traditionally by Muslim women). Indulal Shah and Sarla Shah were there.”  

We all nodded in agreement. People of all faiths and religions have always found a place at His lotus feet and, from Swami’s own description, it was evident that this held true even for the 1973 visit. GV Sir (Prof. Venkataraman, director of Radiosai) entered the conversation saying,

“Swami we have the original films of that visit in our archives! We also have the films of Swami’s trip to Kashmir.”

On His way out to grant darshan in the International Centre. Living each day on the inside was such a revealing
experience. I am grateful to Swami forever. 

Swami continued to speak about our outing. He asked,

“What did you buy there?”

Sai Krishna was quick to respond,

“Swami we did not buy anything. We only saw everything and we took some good photos.”

Swami nodded and said,

“Though you did not buy, seeing  some things the desire to buy arose in you.”

Again, there were smiles all around. We looked at each other and understood that we could not deny what Swami had said.

{This is the 4th part of an ongoing series. You can read the previous part at this link:

Delhi-Simla Memories- Part 3 - Sights of Delhi

Or you can read from the beginning. The link to Part 1 is here:

Delhi-Simla Memories- Part 1 - Hello Delhi }

The tiffin session continued. After a few minutes of silence, Swami looked up and said in a matter-of-fact manner,

“When you went to see all that, Satyajit and I went in flight to Puttaparthi. There I gave prasadam to all the sick and ailing people and we returned.”

The Pav in my hand dropped to the plate! I stopped chewing too. This was an amazing revelation and Swami had made it so casually without any ado. The impact of the revelation seemed to slowly hit the others too and they also looked at Swami in awe. Even as we were beginning to glimpe at Swami, the Supreme Universal Lord who can never be totally understood, Swami, the sweet friend came to the forefront.

Delhi-Simla Memories- Part 2 - Dinner with God

The Sri Sathya Sai International Centre

After 28 years on earth and in India, this was the first time I was visiting the country’s capital city. And I had spent the first hour there dozing in an air-conditioned bus wading through Delhi’s traffic-filled roads as the adrenaline rush of the morning faded. The fresh excitement of seeing Swami in Delhi kept waking me from my siesta and that was when I noticed how congested the roads of Delhi were even though they were broad.

A view of the reception that Swami received at the Delhi airport! Almost everyone in the vicinity who had the
permission to be on the tarmac was present there! (In the foreground is the lift vehicle via which Swami descended). 

It was past 6 pm when we reached the Sri Sathya Sai International Centre which had been filled to the brim. A few volunteers rushed to welcome us and make a way for our bus to enter the premises. I jumped down with my camera and followed the volunteers. Along the way, we were informed that Swami had blessed the gathering during the bhajans, received Aarthi and had retired for the day, while we had been stuck in a bus in the Delhi traffic jam! 

The first bhajans and Aarthi in the Divine physical presence at the Sri Sathya Sai International Centre.

Before entering the building, I saw my father and called out to him.

“Appa!”

He smiled at me and waved back to me.

{Came here directly? Part 1 is at the link below:

Delhi-Simla memories - Part 1 - Hello Delhi}

We were then led through what I thought was a maze at the end of which, was a small auditorium. From there, we arrived at a landing area with a lift which had been used by Swami to go to His room upstairs. We were told that Swami was waiting for the boys and that we should go to our rooms, freshen up and return ASAP. Our rooms were in the adjacent building. Thus, instead of taking the stairs to the top, we took the exit to the side of the lift. Coming out of the door I realized that Swami’s lift was actually right next to the place where our bus had parked! The maze-travel had confused me into thinking that the lift was very far. I was reminded of Kabirdas’ musk deer which roams the entire forest in search of the fragrance that emanates from its own navel!  Maybe this is how travelling towards God is - always simple but we travel through mazes and think it to be complicated!

The area where our bus came and parked. To the left is Swami's residence building to the left of which is the darshan grounds.
To the right is the building where we were accommodated.

A picture of the main entrance of the Sri Sathya Sai International Centre readying itself to receive the Lord. (The previous picture is taken when the gates have been opened. 

Three rooms had been assigned to us and they were in the third floor of the adjacent building. They were actually classrooms that had been converted into living quarters. Beds had been laid on the ground, dormitory style, and the rooms were pleasantly cool thanks to the air conditioning. The Hadshi experience had taught me not to pick a spot near someone who snores while sleeping at night. Tell me your company and I shall tell you how you slept at night - was my motto! Thus, I chose my neighbours carefully, deposited my baggage and freshened up.

As I came out of the building, I met Amma (my mother). She was happy at the close darshan that she had got and I was happy seeing her so happy. I assured her that I would somehow get passes for them the next day and I hurried on towards Swami’s residence. On the way, I met Mrs. Malvika Rai, her husband, Mr.Anil Rai and their daughter. It was nice seeing them and I remembered how they had wished me well and told me at Parthi,

“We pray that we see you in Delhi.”

I offered my gratitude to them for their good wishes and told myself that getting the blessings of elders in any endeavour would always bode well for anyone. We all ushered into the auditorium where we were formally welcomed to Delhi by Mr. Rasagotra. Swami had not yet come to the dining hall and this session in the auditorium was an extempore plan to keep us engaged while we waited.