Delhi-Simla Memories- Part 1 - Hello Delhi

An excitement build-up

The aerial 'chariot' booked to serve as the Lord's carrier to Delhi. Here, the aircraft is seen parked in the Puttaparthi
airport with the Super Specialities Hospital seen in the background. 

Travelling with Bhagawan Baba to visit a place is an experience that can never be captured adequately in words. Yet, time and again, that very effort is made by those who are blessed to have accompanied Him during various visits. This serial too is such an attempt where I try to relive and share the beautiful memories gathered during Swami’s visit to Delhi and Simla in the summer of 2010.

Spending days in the direct physical presence of Bhagawan is like seeing a multi-faceted diamond. The observer sees His divine sparkle based on his/her own perspective. Now, that is the problem with trying to describe the days spent in the divine presence - at best it can capture only one perspective and a few facets of the Divine Diamond. But then, I feel that it would be a grave injustice to hold back describing those few facets out of fear of not being comprehensive and all-encompassing. So, with humility and love, I shall proceed with this magical travelogue. I have already written in great detail about the dramatic manner in which I got to know that I was selected for the Delhi-Simla visit.

I had only a couple of days to prepare for the trip with Swami. The excitement of being selected after such intense pining was unbearable. I wasn’t able to eat or sleep properly. I called my parents and told them about the complete change of plans. Well, the change was not so ‘complete’ because I told them to fly to Delhi as planned. Just that, instead of going to the Kumbh Mela, they would stay on at Delhi itself.   I called my sister and many others to obtain small releases of these excitement bouts! Swami Himself added to the excitement on the day preceding takeoff, the 8th of April 2010, during the darshan session in the mandir. After the bhajans got over and Arati had been taken, Swami continued to sit on the dais. He then said,

“Delhi boys.”

Slowly, from all directions, all the boys selected came forward and sat on the steps facing Him. Swami instructed that everyone should be ready, have breakfast and head to the airport. He also gave specific instructions to a few members. Looking at me, He said something very softly. Though I moved up to Him, I could not make out what He was saying. So, I just knelt in front of Him, smiling. Swami also smiled and agreed to my request of padanamaskar. I bent over the railings and gently kissed His feet. I must have looked like a giraffe bending over a fence to drink water but I didn’t care. Who cares how one looks when one is getting the opportunity to kiss those redeeming feet - the feet that promise to take one across the ocean of life (Dusthara Bhava Sagara Tharanam) as Swami Himself puts it?

The road was lined  with people who had come to wave goodbye to Swami. On the top right of the photograph
is the runway of the Puttaparthi airport. 

Swami’s magic works even before people meet Him

The 9th of April dawned very early for me. I was up even before the sun had thoughts of rising because I had hardly slept at night. Such was the excitement that it almost seemed like a whole day before it became 9:45 am when we were supposed to transfer our entire luggage near the Poornachandra auditorium! From where they would be picked and transported to the aircraft by a trailer tractor. By 11:45 am we too assembled at the airport, having finished a late breakfast. The yellow hospital bus ferried us to the airport where the preliminary checks and check-ins were done. Since the airport is not used regularly, special personnel had arrived to do these security duties. Thus, it took a little longer than at normal airports. It was almost 1:40 pm when all of us were in the aircraft, waiting for Swami’s arrival.

Hadshi-Mumbai diaries - Part 7 - A day for group-photo taking and group-photo showing

A special photo-viewing session with Swami at Hadshi

A beautiful solo-photograph that Swami granted at the request of the Jadhav family at Hadshi

Rising up at 5 a.m. is indeed an excellent practice, I discovered on the 30th of October, as I woke up in Hadshi. It is not only spiritually beneficial as the early hours of the Brahma muhurtam are sacred but also practically useful as one gets quality time with oneself with least distractions or interruptions. Waking early seems to unlock a great energy source within which diminishes in intensity the later one rises! It was during the early hours of the morning that I occupied myself with noting down in detail all the happenings of the trip which is responsible for this comprehensive travelogue today.

(Dear reader,

If you have come directly to this post, I would like to egg you on to enjoy the full story with its history. Link to part 1 is given below and the link to the next part will be at the end of each previous part. Thank you.

Hadshi Mumbai diaries - Part 1 - The Blessing Materializes 

The previous part which is Part 6 is located at the link given below in case you missed that.

Hadshi Mumbai diaries - Part 6 - Sathya Sai's message at Hadshi

Part 7 continues below)

As soon as I finished my notes after returning from the Mandir I got busy getting ready for the day. The morning ablutions time was also fun. Almost twenty of us would be shaving, brushing and getting ready with a lot of talking and singing going on. A lot of leg pulling and discussing never-before-thought-of angles about the events that had happened during the trip brought cheer and mirth to all. Ravikumar (Ravi bhaiya for me) was present and I felt like how a newcomer in the Indian Cricket team would feel when he would share the dressing room with the legendary Sachin Tendulkar! Ashwath Narayan and Koustubh Pare in the meanwhile would have begun their respective Riyaz (singing practice). The whole area would be reverberating with music and swaras. CG would be practicing the Sitar adding strings to the heavenly atmosphere of music. It was just so beautiful.

Yet again we had a sumptuous breakfast by the poolside. Many took photos with the water in the background and tried to capture memories on a memory chip in a camera! Completing our breakfast, soon we were all seated outside Swami's room awaiting His arrival. We all had come up with a plan for the morning- a plan to spend more time with Swami. Eager to have a few exclusive moments with Bhagavan, we thought arranging a photo viewing session would be a good idea. I was all set with a few selected pictures to show Him on a laptop. Something interesting and nice happened. In a corner of the same hall we noticed a 29-inch plasma TV, which when connected, began to read the photos on file! It was as if Providence had liked our idea! Immediately, the laptop was hooked up to the TV. We now could not wait for His door to open.

Once the door opened and Swami came out, we had Him for ourselves for the next 20 minutes or so.

At about 10:05 a.m., Swami emerged and as He came towards us He asked,

"All of you showered well or did you have only a sponge bath?"

We laughed and replied that we did freshen up ourselves in full. Getting up on my knees, I said, "Swami, we have some photos. If Swami agrees, we can watch them." The Lord graciously consented. Soon He moved to the centre of the hall and was seated facing the TV. And then began a most memorable twenty minute session. Even as I began to scroll through the images, Nishikant, Kaustubh, P. Srinivasan and Ravi Teja began to do padaseva to Swami. CG continued to shoot Video and Ravi Bhaiya thankfully took my camera to capture pictures of the whole scene. Here are a few snippets of the conversation that ensued; even though this is not in order of occurrence, I guess the sequence is not as significant as the event itself.

Initially, there were the photos of the concert on Day 1. Swami asked,

"Who is that?"

“Swami, Kavita Krishnamoorthy, that is Nitin Mukesh and.... (I forgot the third name!)”

Satyajit helped me with the answer, “Sapna Mukherjee”.

As the slideshow progressed, there came a picture of a woman receiving a saree from Swami. Bhagavan asked who she was and when nobody answered, He Himself revealed that she was an elderly devotee who sings and has been coming to Him for long.

Swami looking at the picture of Him blessing Sapne Mukherjee. He gave us all the joy of conversation with Him.

The photos of the crowds during the concert were taken mostly from the gents' side and so the ladies were largely seen in them. Observing this Swami said sweetly, as if in justification for me, "The gents were all seated on this side (same side of the photographer and hence he could not click them) There were many people behind too!"

Swami then saw the pictures of the welcome ceremony to Hadshi. Next on the screen was the photo of the sunrise (about which I have mentioned in the fourth part of this serial).

“Ah! The Moon looks very nice,” He commented.

"Swami, that is the Sun," I said.

(And now is a portion when I was in maya or delusion!)

Swami asked me if that was the Sun, why was everything around dark?

The photo exposure of the camera was according to the Sun’s brightness which is why everything around was dark. Instead of going into the details of the exposure levels in the camera, I simply said, "Swami, its orange in colour! It is the Sun."

Swami looked at me as if to say, "Ok! If you say so…"

In retrospect, I feel I foolishly let go of a wonderful opportunity to learn a lesson that I hope I will practice some day. When Lord Krishna pointed out to an eagle in the sky and said it was a dove, Arjuna agreed. When He surmised that it was a crow, without batting an eyelid Arjuna replied in affirmative again for he knew very well that the Lord can easily turn the eagle into anything He wished. I was in a similar position and rather than saying, "Yes Swami! If you say so..." I made Him say that very same statement. I regret now but with the Lord everything is an opportunity to learn and improve. (By the way, this incident in detail forms the heart of an article on how we often become platform heroes but remain practical zeroes.)

Next was displayed the group photos taken in the Vitthala temple. Seeing this Swami asked, "Who are those elderly people?" Before we could answer, He Himself said,

"They are the mother and father of Jadhav brothers." Then came up a photo of the crowd and I said, "Swami, just like the sunflowers turn to always face the sun, people too move to look at You constantly." 

The incident with Ganesha and the wrongly-held umbrella on the balcony was also depicted in the photos. We then moved to the images shot during the tiffin session at the poolside. There were photos of Swami being reflected in the water. As the wide angle shot of Swami eating amidst the natural settings showed up next I said,

"Swami, this picture has a name." When He looked inquisitively, I said,

"Swami, it is called Prakruthi Paramatma."

Swami's reaction to it was the same like the previous day - He opened His eyes a bit wide and with a mocking smile said, "Abba!" All of us laughed and there was so much happiness all around. It is so easy to comprehend at such times as to why it is said, “Happiness is union with God”.

In the photos taken from the balcony were also pictures of lines of cars climbing up the road to Hadshi. I zoomed in to show Him the number of vehicles as earlier He had mentioned how so many devotees were eagerly arriving for His darshan. When the slideshow was complete, Swami asked,

"That’s all? Is it over?"

I said there were hundreds of photos and we had selected only a few. He then asked,

“Where is that picture of Me you took on the balcony yesterday?"

I was thrilled. I had thought that Swami would never want to see pictures of Himself (And I shoot maximum of Him!). I quickly navigated to the folder and brought that up.

The beautiful Lord amidst beautiful nature. This was the picture that I had got the previous day on
the balcony.

He was happy with it but then said, “All My hair has fallen off.”

All of us chorused,

“No Swami; You have such beautiful hair.”

Swami continued, “I had much more; in Kodaikanal, I lose a lot of hair.”

These interactions were so much on the human level and that, I felt is the reason why the whole humanity identifies with Him - He is so less ‘God’ and so much like any of us as we converse with Him in the physical plane.

The picture of Swami in Orange with the Nature in green and blue skies was wonderful and so I blurted out, “Swami, it looks so nice and wonderful.” Swami said, "Avanni photo theesay vadiki trupti, naaku ledhu (that is joy and satisfaction for the one who has taken the photo, not for me).” Instead of waiting for the nectarous flow, I imprudently said, "Swami, You are ever happy. Only our satisfaction is temporary and it comes and goes." The Lord was silent. After a while, He asked for photos of the Residence and the lake too. I showed Him those too and He seemed happy.

Once we were done, He asked all of us to go down. We did just that. In a short while Swami was with us. He directed us to start moving towards the temple complex and start bhajans on reaching there. It was almost 10:45 a.m. as we reached the stage which had witnessed the concert by Kavitha Subramaniam, Nitin Mukesh and Sapna Mukherjee the previous day. A huge crowd was waiting for Him in the afternoon sun. Most of them had cloth pieces or kerchiefs tied over their heads.

A huge crowd had been patiently singing bhajans, waiting for Swami's arrival at the temple grounds.

Morning session leads up to a visit to Pauna Dam

A loving blessing Abhayahasta at the end of the bhajan session.

Swami arrived at about 11:05 a.m. and as always His drive down was accompanied by a set of students whom our teacher Mr. Gopi had selected to be part of a permanent ‘Security’ team. Swami came on the dais and immediately there was so much energy and enthusiasm in the crowd. In spite of the sun, everyone now forgot the coverings on their heads and seemed to open up their hearts to receive the warmth of His Love and Grace. At about 11:20 a.m., Mr. Shivajirao Jadhav sought Swami’s permission for the Bal Vikas children to lead the session. Bhagavan consented and asked the boys to pause as the little ones started.

They sang about four bhajans in their sweet and innocent voices. Swami concluded the session with one bhajan by the students. For this, He called me. When I walked across to Him, He said, "Tell them to sing Panduranga, Panduranga..." I conveyed the same and that was the final rendering following which was aarthi. Now there was a beautiful breeze and fluffs of Swami's hair swayed as if playing with the wind. The flag atop the Vitthala temple too fluttered in all majesty and glory. Swami raised both His hands in benediction for the crowd that had pined for Him. It was almost 12:00 p.m. when He returned to the Mandir.

The devotees are thrilled and many are moved to tears having Swami's darshan.

We were all waiting for Him. Seeing all of us in a row, Swami moved into the Residence and soon we also followed suit. Another banquet had been arranged and Swami was seated for lunch amidst the elders. The discussion on the table meandered first towards the fruits and other crops grown in the region and then into diet and nutritional value of some of them and many others. Thus it was that mangoes, oranges and jamoon fruits ‘cropped’ up in the divine discussion! As lunch concluded, we learnt that Swami had agreed for the boys to be taken for an outing to the Pauna dam nearby.

At 1:45 p.m., our tour began in a special air conditioned bus loaded with cool drinks and snacks! Those were times of plenty and many of us even refused to take advantage of those bounties! The drive was to take about 45-50 minutes and for most of the time, I dozed only to be shaken by someone who said, "Just look at the scenery outside. You will not get such views again. Get up and shoot." In spite of the comforting embrace of the Goddess of Sleep I opened my eyes and indeed it was a sight worth sacrificing the siesta for! In fact, they were captivating enough to make one forget sleep.

A sweeping view of the Pauna Dam

The huge expanse of water was beautiful even at midday and the shapes of the nearby hills resembled the sacred linga! The road was narrow and winding, and a white Audi car formed the pilot for our bus. We came across groups of mules lugging up loads, herded by women in traditional Maharashtrian attire. By 2:30 p.m., we were at the site and had been granted special permission (courtesy the Jadhavs) to actually go along the dam. It was hot with the sun right above us. But a mere glance at the expanse of freshwater before us which was 210 feet deep ensured that neither the salty sweat nor the burning sun dampened our enthusiasm. The staff manning the dam not only showed us the rooms which housed the valves to open the sluice gates but also gave us a demonstration of its entire management. The bus had been sent to the other end where it would wait for us as we crossed the entire stretch of the dam on foot. The blue-green waters below had a sort of calming and relaxing effect and so we easily accomplished the kilometre long walk. As Swami had directed us against going for boating, by 3:10 p.m. we were all aboard the bus ready to return to Hadshi.

Special photo-shoot session

Once we were back we quickly freshened up and rushed to the Mandir. It was well past 4:00 p.m. We could not go up near Swami's room as He Himself was coming down the lift even as we entered. He saw a few of us and asked,

"Have all the boys returned?"

We replied that some of us had reached the Mandir earlier but all the boys indeed were back. Swami then called Mrs. Ratanlal and asked, "Do you still remember your husband?"

“Swami, I recollect nothing of the past. Of what use is it to think of the past?”

Swami speaks with the venerable and sweet Ratanlal aunty - dedicated in His service since the 1960s.

Swami continued to gently prod the elderly devotee. She had been blessed with service of Swami since the 1960s and Swami had relished the food cooked by her for decades.

“Delhi, Lahore, your husband… you must be remembering them.”

“No Swami! We all have come with nothing and we leave in the same manner. If we think of Swami always, it is enough.”

I could not help but admire the wisdom being exuded by this special devotee of the Lord.  I was touched with the surrender and love of Ratanlal Aunty.  At this point, Mr. V. Srinivasan added,

"Swami always narrates to us the story of Alexander who left the earth empty handed."

Swami now moved to His room next to the dining table. Arrangements were being made for a group photo session of the Jadhav family with Swami. The flower vase in the centre of the hall had been made anew with fresh flowers and Bhagavan too arrived around 4.20 p.m. in the beautiful darshan chair. As the family arranged themselves around Him, the angle of coverage needed expansion. So Satyajit and I moved the massive dining table behind. Once this was done, the photo session began. It was very special for me as Swami was constantly looking into the camera with momentary glances at the video camera that CG held. The family members took pictures with Him in various permutations and combinations.

The immediate Jadhav family. The steps on the right lead to Swami's room above. Swami, however,
made use of the lift (seen as a door beyond the staircase) to move up and down.

Soon the boys followed suit. Again, Phani and I requested Swami and He did agree for a complete-group photo. Actually we were all keen to have individual snaps with Swami. However since He has agreed for photos in groups we quickly formed three small teams - a midway compromise between Swami's and our wish! Bhagavan again lovingly got involved in the seating arrangement around Him. I felt so blessed being His student! In the end, it was only CG and I who had not had a picture with Him and so we both sat by His side with our hands on His feet and a beautiful frame was taken. After that, some more people had this blessed opportunity and then Swami Himself called for Prof. Anil Kumar, Mr. Balaram and Mr. Srinivasan to pose with Him. Finally, at the request of the Jadhav brothers, Swami agreed for a solo photograph. With great joy, I took a few good shots. (Shown as the first photo in this part).

A special photo-op for the photographer and the video-cameraman.

As this session concluded by about 4:40 pm, He began to move out. And there He saw all the other members of the family assembled for His darshan. Also present were the workers, gardeners, cooks, helpers and everyone else who had contributed in the service. Swami now began to move amidst them granting them namaskar and blessings. Here, there were other photographers and videographers, and so, CG and I took a small break. This was such a noble act of Mr. Jadhav; he had ensured that none miss the joy of His physical proximity. Towards the end, I noticed that as Swami would move out of the shade, the evening sun would delightfully light up the divine face. So, I rushed there and clicked the Radiant Face smiling brightly. Moving ahead, Swami got into the car.

The padanamaskar session that Swami granted was because of the large-heartedness of the Jadhav brothers and Swami would give us a message about the same, later.

to be continued in Part 8 which is at the link below:

Hadshi-Mumbai diaries - Part 8 - The Vijayabhojanam or the banquet of victory

For all readers:

(If you enjoyed this and wish to subscribe to this blog, please go to the right hand side and choose the last 'box' which says subscribe. Also explore the 60-odd 'previous articles' listed month-wise on the top right here. Another blog which I maintain with more than 230 articles on it is at http://aravindb1982.hubpages.com. If you wish to be added to my mailing list, please email me via this page with the subject "ADD ME TO MAILING LIST".)

Hadshi Mumbai diaries - Part 3 - Welcome to Hadshi

Swami moves from the aircraft into the vestibule-lift at the Pune airport

Happy landing? Ultimately yes, but a lot of uncertainty for me

The Pune airport, where we were scheduled to land is a ‘complicated’ airport. It is shared between civilian and military aircraft and thus, extra rules and regulations exist there which complicate life for the normal traveller at times. Some of the elders had scared us - especially the ones with cameras - that we ought to be very careful at Pune. Our cameras might be snatched away for security reasons, they had warned us. Even as the plane landed, I could see a plethora of dignitaries who had arrived to welcome Swami. 

(Dear reader,
If you have come directly to this post, I would like to egg you on to enjoy the full story with its history.

Link to part 1 is given below and the link to the next part will be at the end of each previous part. Thank you.

Hadshi Mumbai diaries - Part 1 - The Blessing Materializes)

Prominent among them was the former Lok Sabha speaker, Sri Shivraj Patil. Hordes of security people hovered around the craft and a couple of them even came and sealed the back exit, damming us within the plane. The elder Jadhav, Mr. Uttamrao, himself was literally held hostage at the back exit of the plane due to the guards. CG and I were also held up, but then I told the security personnel,

“See, all those important persons will want a photo with Swami. In case they ask us why we did not capture images, we will have to blame you. So please let us go there.”

I had a look at the name on his badge as I spoke. He reluctantly said that he would permit one of us to go. I asked CG to go since a video camera captures more than a photograph. If a picture is worth a thousand words, imagine a moving picture!

CG went to shoot no doubt, but very soon, he also went away in the divine convoy! Meanwhile, I was at the plane’s rear with the Jadhavs and the State President of the Maharashtra Sathya SAi Seva Organisation, Mr. Ramesh Sawant. As I got down from the plane, I got to know that the entourage would be proceeding to Hadshi in a specially arranged bus. Swami would be visiting the Jadhav residence in Pune before driving to Hadshi. Now, I began to envy CG’s good fortune and began thinking how I too could go to the Jadhav residence.

I saw Mr. Sawant running in another direction. I caught up with him and asked,

“Uncle can I come with you?”

“Sure”, he said with a look of surprise. I was under the wrong impression that he would also be going to the Jadhav residence. Even as I realized that I had been wrong in my assumption, I saw the elder Jadhav brother hop into an Audi SUV. I was barefoot and I ran, camera around my neck, towards the SUV in the hot sun. Luckily, the vehicle slowed down and I pressed my face against the window glass. The Jadhav recognised me as the photographer on board the flight and asked me whether I would join him. I nodded gladly and in moments, was cooling off in the super-power air conditioner of the car. Apparently, the younger Jadhav was already at home and the elder brother beside me was Swami’s escort from Puttaparthi who had got left behind.. All the other boys, in the meanwhile, were being transported to Hadshi in a luxury bus.

In the car, Mr. Uttamrao asked me what I intended to do when I reached his residence. I had no idea about anything and I told him that I would ‘see’ what had to be done.

“It will be impossible to get into the house there. Knowing the huge crowd that Swami attracts, security has been arranged so that nobody other than the family gets into the house. So here, take this badge. It is a ‘Family’ badge and now you will also be allowed in.”

I gratefully accepted the badge. It struck me as very singular that when you work for God, the entire world becomes your ‘family’ in no time. My only credentials were that I was ‘Swami’s photographer’ and here was Mr. Uttamrao instantly making me part of the Jadhav family! That is His magic!

The happy luncheon session at the Jadhav home wherein Swami ate almost nothing and used the visit to
bless all the family members. 

By the time we reached the home of the Jadhavs, Swami was already there at their dining table. I flashed my ‘Family’ card to gain entry into the home. I saw CG in a far corner of the large hall, busy capturing visuals which posterity would appreciate. I too moved in slowly and took up a position nearby.

Swami was at a dining table and a ‘host’ of people surrounded Him in the pretext of serving Him. In India, it is tradition that one’s love and appreciation towards the guest is directly proportional to the amount of food that one can feed that guest! It seemed as though Swami had become a victim of this tradition! He was being served from more than 20-30 dishes that had been prepared. However, in His plate were not more than a few morsels of food!

Swami's smile is so cute and sweet! Here, the younger Jadhav
washes the Divine hand after the meal.

I have not had many chances to see Swami dine from such close quarters and have mostly let my imagination fill in the gaps as to how it might be. That day as I saw Him, Swami felt so human! He saw me and, suddenly, a smile of recognition lit up His face. Everyone looked up to see who was receiving this lovely smile from the Lord. I felt very special. That smile was to have a lingering role as we shall see later!

Swami was asking about the different items on the menu, though He was not eating everything. He seemed interested in a particular type of vada (a fried, Indian delicacy). More of it was brought accordingly, but Swami did not take anymore. Now an interesting episode took place. Mr. Shivajirao Jadhav's wife entered with a plate filled with eats. Swami asked,

"What is that?"

Mr. Jadhav replied, “Swami, the same saboodana vada. She has cut it to small, conveniently-sized pieces for You to eat."

Swami was so pleased at this attention to detail! As a reward, He accepted a few pieces. He then asked Mr. Srinivasan and Satyajit to have a few tidbits as well. As CG and I shot pictures, both of us were offered fruit salad. I was feeling quite hungry because I had not eaten anything since morning (I had skipped the in-flight breakfast to click photographs)! But as the Divine sight was on us, we politely declined. And Bhagavan seemed satisfied and happy at the way we had conducted ourselves.

Swami soon finished the meal and blessed all the members of the family. To a lad who wanted to pursue MBA after finishing his BCom, Swami advised to do Chartered Accountancy as it would come useful for the family’s business. As He slowly moved out, Swami was told that all would be going to Hadshi. Shortly, aarthi was taken and I was the lead singer simply by the sheer absence of any other singers nearby!

The Lord's visit is never a secret! Crowds had already gathered in Pune to catch a glimpse of the lovable form in orange.

And so began the drive from Pune to Hadshi. I was in Mr. Uttamrao Jadhav's car and, talking to him, I found out about how they had organized the Latur-Chakur trip as well. He told me,

"This visit to our home was a last minute job. Swami agreed to bless us in this fashion out of the blue. Therefore, the arrangements were not so good. See the arrangements we have made at Hadshi."

“Wow!” I thought, “If this was supposed to be a ‘last minute job’, I want to see their thorough arrangements!”

He further acknowledged, “Swami was so very happy when He saw you. You students are loved so dearly by Him! It is amazing.”

I could only trace all this admiration and respect to one source – that single smile from dear Swami!

We were the third car behind Swami's Toyota Estima on the journey
from Pune to Hadshi. 

Before long, we could see the beautiful Mandir atop the hill from a distance. All along the way, hundreds of villagers stood in awe and devotion as Swami's car passed by. Many of them did not seem to know which vehicle to look at, thanks to over a dozen cars arranged by the Jadhavs, which were all similar to Swami's Toyota Estima! Once the climb began, I had a glimpse of the arrangements. The entire road to the top was lined with children and devotees welcoming Swami with flags, placards and ribbons. At every hairpin bend were beautiful posters carrying His message and teachings. All along the way were banners inviting Bhagawan to Pandurang Kshetra. Yes! That was the name for Swami’s shrine at Hadshi.

All along the way, for dozens of kilometers, people lined the road. There were also many arches and
banners which I photographed from the moving vehicle. 

We presently arrived at the main entrance of the grand "fortress-temple" that towered over us. I jumped out of the vehicle to march in front of Swami's car on foot, taking photographs all along. Little did I realize that there was almost half a kilometre to be traversed before the final destination! Music from the bands reverberated in the air. Little boys wearing orange turbans with cymbals in hand welcomed Swami. It was a real "red-carpet" reception for Bhagavan, right up to His residence. The entire stretch had been barricaded but nothing could prevent the fervent prayers and passionate longing of the people from reaching the Lord. Mr. Uttamrao Jadhav, the elder brother, was in a devotional fervour as he, alighting from the car, moved amidst the people egging them to sing aloud and rejoice, for the Lord had arrived. His enthusiasm was highly infectious!

A view of the sea of humanity at Hadshi, waiting to welcome Swami.

Traditionally dressed Maharashtrian village women with pots balancing delicately on their heads were also part of the welcome team. Everyone was so thrilled at the mere sight of Swami’s car. The red carpet now gave way to a green one and a congregation chanting Vedic hymns began to lead the procession. Soon we arrived at the Residence. A shehnai artist accompanied by percussionists filled the ambience with welcome tunes. In fact this was to become a daily feature during the entire period of our stay - a shehnai artist playing music outside the Residence as it was done outside the palaces of emperors! The members of the Jadhav family had lined up at the final stretch before the divine home. A beautiful, circular rangol, about two metres in diameter, adorned the entrance with the words ‘Aum Sri Sai Ram’ etched in Devanagari script.

The drive-through in Hadshi, at the Pandurangakshetra itself was about a kilometer long.

A pink ribbon fastened across the door awaited the inaugural snip from His hand. I wanted to rush in to take pictures from the inside but was rudely prevented. This time the younger Jadhav brother issued instructions that I was not to be stopped and must be given complete access! Again, the power of the Smile I had received at the Jadhavs’ residence in Pune… So it was that I could get a photo of Bhagavan inaugurating the Mandir and arriving inside.

The magnificent Residence building which Swami inaugurated by cutting a pink ribbon. 

A golden rose lay on Swami’s lap, offered by a devotee. As soon as Swami came into the Mandir, the Jadhavs washed His feet, and collected the sacred water into a silver plate to be taken as teertham (holy water) by the privileged family. Aarthi was then performed as all the members of the family gathered before the Lord.

A note here about the Jadhav family – The total number of members ran in excess of two hundred and the family tree had multiple branches, twigs and leaves! They seemed to be harvesting the fruits of joy and satisfaction which the Gardener had delivered to them. Since this was a huge ‘tree’, only the 'trunk' and 'primary branches' were in the Residence and they added up to almost twenty to thirty members!

Their large and airy home had four guest rooms, one at each of the corners of the rectangular hall. Swami’s dining table stood at the northern side of the hall, while about half a dozen other tables for the guests were arranged at the southern end.

Swami moved across the length of the entire hall and had a look at the four rooms. He was immensely pleased with the meticulous care and effort of the Jadhavs. In the south-east corner of the House stood the kitchen, where the youth waited for Swami. They were the youth from Mumbai and Maharashtra who had been chosen to serve Swami and His guests for the trip. Swami blessed them.

Meanwhile, the rest of the students who had been driven down by bus straight from the Pune airport arrived. Swami was very happy to see them, even as He moved towards the lift which was a small enclosure with a grilled gate inside and a wooden door outside. It was just sufficient for Swami's chair and Satyajit. As He entered the lift, Swami brought the index finger and the thumb of His hand together to gesture the sign ‘excellent’ and said,

"It is so nice here. There are all facilities (anukoolanu) for everyone to stay comfortably."

Swami was very happy with the facilities for all as He moved into the lift to go to His room. 

Swami then went up to His room which was in the northwest corner of the Residence. There was a huge atrium in this one-storeyed building to allow natural light from the sky to fill the house. This central area had a wooden parapet and from here Swami saw all of us gathered below as He moved to His room as He retired for the afternoon.

After this, we did a silent Brahmaarpanam (the food prayer) and had a hearty meal. Soon after, we were shown our living quarters. There were three double rooms and each one contained six cots. Ah! The beds were so inviting. We dived into them instantly to stretch out our tired bodies.

After an hour’s rest, we were back in the Mandir.

(I call the Residence as the Mandir, for that is the term for the place where God resides.) We waited down in the area resembling a verandah and soon, Swami came down the lift. He called all the elders to have tiffin with Him. And so, Prof. G. Venkataraman, Mr. S.V. Giri, Dr. Dash, Mr. Gokal Das, Mr. Balaram and Mr. Naganand occupied the table along with Swami.

After they had finished, Swami asked for their plates to be cleared and fresh ones laid. He also supervised the dishes served, and then He beckoned me! I was taken aback and realized with excitement that Swami was inviting me to eat at His table. I was so delighted that I quickly found myself there. He continued, "Mugguru mugguru ikkada kuchondi (Three each sit on either side).” I called out for a few others and soon Phaneendra, KVSK Ganesh, Aravind Sai, Sai Dath, Nishikant and myself were at His table seeing Him for most of the time with momentary glances at the items served on our plates!

The rest of the boys now filled the other tables and soon a thundering Brahmaarpanam began. Everyone around me seemed to close their eyes. I however opened mine as wide as possible and drank in deep the darshan of sweet Swami. I was feeling so privileged. I am sure I have done nothing to deserve this but as He says, "If you love me, you deserve me!" I was feeling such a surge of happiness welling in me. I managed to look at Neeraj Acharya and asked him to take a snap of that glorious moment! Swami then told us to start eating.

Sitting at the farthest end to Swami's right, it was an unbelievable opportunity to dine with Him.

As I began, Swami asked me, "Ay photographer, nee video cameraman ekkada?" (Photographer! Where is your video camera man?)

I quickly rose and called out to CG who was at another table. He came forward. Swami saw him and then asked him to return and eat well. Again I was so happy that at the physical level Swami had identified me as something – a photographer! He told all of us that we would not eat well if He was there! And so, He left saying He would be back in a while by which time we should have filled our stomachs freely.

I ate with trembling excitement and soon Sai Krishna told me that the privilege we had been blessed with was not bestowed upon anyone even in Kodaikanal – sharing the table with Swami! Once we were done, we waited once again to receive Him.

to be continued in Part 4 located at the below link:

Hadshi Mumbai diaries - Part 4 - A shrine is born

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