Hadshi Mumbai diaries - Part 4 - A shrine is born

A musical evening

Swami blesses Mr.Subrata Roy (above) and Mr.Shivraj Patil (below).

Swami had gone to His room after the evening tiffin session on the first day of our stay at Hadshi. Within a few minutes, He came down. It was about 5:50 p.m. and there were a few VIP guests who had come to meet Him. Notable among them were Mr. Shivraj Patil and Mr. Subrata Roy, the Managing "Worker" (as he calls himself) and Chairman of the Sahara Parivar, a multi-business conglomerate.

(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)

It is pertinent here that I mention another ‘faulty’ line of thinking that devotees and critics alike adopt with Swami. I am drawn into this here because apparently, Mr. Subrata Roy has got himself into some legal tangles. The question that people ask is this:

How can Swami bless someone who is not good/unethical/unrighteous and so on?

I say that this is a faulty line of thinking because we seem to be partial in the application of this line of thinking. We are convinced that God is only for the ‘Good’ and not for the ‘Bad’. (i put those words in quotes only to indicate that they are good and bad in our perspective. One man’s freedom-fighter is another man’s terrorist!) God’s love is for all though He always encourages the good over bad. And that is because good is definitely a greater reality than bad. But that does not mean that God deserts the ‘bad’. If He deserts the ‘bad’ then He is no God at all. The hypocrisy lies in the fact that we consider ourselves as ‘good’. God alone knows how many skeletons we have in our cupboards! And so, I feel, rather than spend time in wondering why certain people receive God’s blessings, we should focus on ourselves being good and persevering with it. After this little detour, I move back to the narrative.

Blessing them all, Swami moved out of the Mandir. As He came down, the bands and people in costumes lined the entire way. The temple had been lit and presented a beautiful sight. Bhajans were in progress, and as Swami approached the huge stage that had been set up for Him, songs in Marathi were sung. The bhajan singers were the likes of Kunal Ganjawalla and Raviraj Nasery; the former being a very popular name in the Indian music industry! The students followed Swami’s car. I ran up the stage to take pictures.

There was a swell of a crowd on the evening of the 28th of October as Swami came on stage and moved all around,
granting Darshan. 

As Swami alighted from His car, the first thing He did was to tell Nishikant, who was at the lead of all boys, to go up the stage. And so all the students moved up and took positions behind Swami's chair. Bhagavan took a quick round of the dais so that the thousands gathered could have His darshan.

When Swami was interacting with all of us and was 'inside', Swami was so human; He was like one among us and we too freely moved about Him. There was this intimacy with Swami, which sometimes bordered on the casual from our side. However, once outside, amidst the devotees, a strange, effulgence emanated from His face. I just watched in awe at the way this radiance transferred from Him to the faces of all the devotees assembled including myself! I was overwrought with wonder. "This is God. Don't ever forget that," I told myself.

Swami was now in the centre of the massive stage, listening to the songs of the singers who were seated below. The artists due to perform in the evening were also seated below. After a few songs, permission was sought to invite them on stage and Swami agreed.

The performers for the evening seek Divine blessings. Kavita Krishnamoorthy's daughter too was present. 

The musicians for the day were Nitin Mukesh, Kavita Subramaniam (Kavita Krishnamoorthy, as she is popularly known) and Sapna Mukherjee. They bowed to Swami and began their renditions. Nitin Mukesh, as he sang, held on dearly to the rose that had been blessed by Swami. He started the session with a Ganesh bhajan, Jai Ganesh Jai Ganesh Jai Ganesh Deva. The artists had decided to sing in turns, in rotation.

The crowd was overjoyed, for they were having Bhagavan’s darshan. A huge video-mixing console had been set up and there were moving cameras everywhere. The arrangements were more than elaborate and devotional songs filled the ambience in this beautiful setting. About nine songs later, Swami blessed the performers with sarees, shawls and white safari pieces. He asked Nitin Mukesh to come to Puttaparthi as well and perform.

It was a captivating night scene as Aarthi was performed to Swami at Hadshi, on the grand stage.

The flow of devotion to which we had to become 'walls'!

Aarthi was now offered, and as Swami moved down the ramp to the car, hundreds dived for an opportunity to touch His lotus feet.

Swami then drove back to the Residence. All of us had a good chance of a close darshan as we lined up on the way from the car till the main door of the Mandir. We were actually doing “Security Duty”. As we formed a tight cordon around Swami’s car, I remembered how noticing the devotees’ plight, Swami had once played with the term ‘volunteer’ as ‘wall-and-tear’! I was myself becoming one such wall, eliciting tears of separation from the devotee.

“But they are also tears of pining”, I consoled myself. Soon the Lord was in the Mandir.

God is the '1' that gives value to all the 0s that follow

The next moment, the aroma of freshly cooked food wafted into our nostrils. Swami had dinner with the elders and then He called out, "Ay boys! Go and sit at the tables."

As He was on His way back, the inimitable Prof. Anil Kumar complimented the food saying that the quality of mango pickles (avakai) and gongura were unmatched! Swami was so happy and they had their little private chat. Then the All India President (AIP) of Sri Sathya Sai Organisations, Mr. V. Srinivasan, asked Swami whether the boys should go for morning walks as was the practice when Swami takes the boys to Kodaikanal. Bhagavan said that there was no need to do so. Entering the lift, Swami retired for the day.

We heartily dined and then returned to our rooms. It was a heavy meal and so Sudhindran, Anand and I went for a walk in the night. The temple was being prepared for inauguration the next day, and the whole area had been beautifully lit. The night air was cool.

An experience that we all felt throughout this trip was that of "oneness with God". Let me elaborate: All of us received the same love, reverence and devotion that Swami receives from the people. And all this was because we had on us the badge that proclaimed, ‘Bhagavan's Guest’. People would rejoice whenever they saw us because that, for them, was a sure indication that Swami was coming. In fact, even in our nightly stroll, we encountered a few people who asked us if Swami was coming down for darshan at that time! Living with God is not only a great privilege, but also a great responsibility. The adoring eyes can soon turn critical if we do not conduct ourselves as befitting the divine tag. That was a lesson that seared itself across my consciousness that night.

However, it was not long before I could also see what our true status was. A security guard just brushed me aside and said that I had no permission to enter the gate that would lead me back to our quarters. I was in my T-shirt and track pants and had forgotten to carry my badge. I was shocked and did not know what to do. The very next instant, the security personnel’s behaviour, metamorphosed into one of humility and love when Anand flashed his badge and stood by me saying, “He is Swami’s student. Let him in!” Wow! It is Swami and Swami alone who means everything to everyone. Else, all of us are nothing! We rise in the eyes of the world, only because of our association and proximity with the Lord. Without Swami, we were insignificant nothings. This incident only demonstrated to me the axiom – “With God, we are heroes. Without Him, we are zeroes.”

The Ultimate Hero_ who does everything and acts as though He does nothing!

As we returned to the rooms, Sai Krishna came running to me and said that five of us would be privileged to sleep just outside Swami's door in the Mandir. That too was part of the security duty. Would I like to be one of them? It was a rhetorical question for me as I hurried and picked up my pillows and bed sheets to go towards the Mandir.

Gopi Sir who was shepherding us, enquired from all of us whether any of us snored at night.

“I don’t want any of you disturbing BHagawan with your ‘sound’ sleep!” he remarked. I remembered that my parents and sister had told me that I snore on some occasions. I just hid that truth and prayed to Swami that he control my body physiology so that I don’t lose this chance.

“Dear Swami, I have been given this body to get closer to you. Let me not do anything with it that takes me away from you - snoring included”, I prayed.

We were given beds and soon all of us lay down. A washroom next door was open for us to use and I really felt like a king as I saw the size of that room! My God, it was bigger than many living rooms that I had seen so far! When I returned, I thanked Swami for the many beautiful moments of the day, and bid a happy good bye to the first day of this lovely trip.

Sunrise - the beginning of the D day

Sunrise at Hadshi, silhouetting the Residence.

The sunrise at Hadshi is so beautiful. Sunrises have always fascinated me more than sunsets simply because I like the concept of ‘rising’ more than ‘setting’! Rising seems like birth while setting seems like death. However, the Truth of life is that there can be no sunrise without a sunset. And the faster I realize it, the better.

Since our rooms were on the western side of the Mandir, as the sun rose it presented a beautiful silhouette of the Residence. I was actually clueless when Harish told me, "Go up and shoot the sunrise!" Hurriedly I ran up and searched in vain in the western skies.

“Oh! Maybe this is another of Harish’s practical jokes”, I thought, and was about take the stairs down when suddenly my eyes fell on the gorgeous sunrise and I stood transfixed! I had foolishly been looking in the wrong direction! The sun was a big ball and looked so handsome and juicy. No wonder Lord Hanuman mistook it for a ripe fruit and lunged at the Sun God! The sun was that stunning orange that is so dear to anyone who knows Swami.

“This is almost like morning darshan”, I said to myself and did take a few good snaps. These photos would be playing a lovely part in an interaction we had with Swami later on.

The first view of the poolside breakfast area. The balcony is beyond
the glass doors and windows behind the breakfast counter.

Admiring the sunrise, I came down to ground realities of morning ablutions. We were all ready and received instructions to head to the poolside for breakfast. The others in the party consisted of mainly elders who stayed at a guesthouse, 100 metres from the Mandir on the eastern side. And there, adjoining the guest house, was a lovely swimming pool. It was really tempting when I realized that I had even carried my swimming shorts to Hadshi. But then, I realized there was no way I could jump in for a swim during a trip of this nature. I therefore drowned my ‘dripping’ desires.

The cool blue waters were an ethereal sight indeed!

At the poolside, the classic blue of the water was cooling and refreshing even to look at. There were other interesting exhibits too like a statue of a boy drawing water from a hot spring (wherein dry ice was used to create the steam effect), an antique lantern, and so on.

Even more impressive and inviting was another display - of dosas, vadas, upma, bread, toasts, juices, Maharashtrian poha, cornflakes in many flavours and the choicest of teas and coffees! The breakfast spread was sumptuous and the dining tables had been neatly arranged in a 3m x 50m balcony that afforded a breathtaking view of the hills and lake nearby! Everything that the eye could see from there belonged to the Jadhavs and it was a remarkable real estate holding to say the least. For the first time many boys requested for pictures of them eating in such a spot of natural splendour! I did oblige but till the moment the groans in my stomach allowed me too! The term breakfast was actually not appropriate, for we were not 'breaking' a 'fast' of any type! If anything we were all overworking our delighted Vaishvanaras!

Imagine breakfasting here, in the lap of nature, with sweeping views of hills and trees. 

Ganesha temple inauguration

By 8:30 a.m. we were all back at the Residence. Bravely we went upstairs and waited there for Swami to emerge. We knew this would be our complete private time with Swami as there was no one else except us at that hour. At about 9:15 the door opened and as soon as Swami saw us His eyes opened up wide as He exclaimed, "Ikkada unnara (You are all here)!”

And then He came towards us and said, "Paandi, paandi (Move, Move)”.

He wanted us to leave quickly. I wondered what the hurry was all about and as my mind was racing, my body was not! Swami saw this and called out, "Ae photographer...." He left the rest unsaid and my body immediately joined my mind in the race. Swami then told something to Jagadish which I am sure he has recorded in his personal diary. Hopefully someday I will be able to peek into it!

So we all rushed down and out to the darshan grounds. The "out" part did not pertain to CG and me as we stayed back to shoot in the Residence itself. Swami came out of the Residence and saw the family of Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma who had come to pay their respects. Bhagawan then came on the upper porch from where the maestro's family could easily take padanamaskar. I did take good snaps of those moments.  But once Swami saw us, He said, "Pillalu paandi (Boys go)!” That was message enough and both of us immediately went down to the temples that awaited inauguration at the divine hands.

Pandit Shivkumar Sharma and his family seek Swami's blessings. 

The temple complex looked beautiful like a bride awaiting her groom. Fountains squirted lending a cool feeling to the entire atmosphere which was lit up brightly by the sprightly sun. The Ganesha temple was at the entrance and there were fountains behind which had been laced with detergent, so they foamed and looked icy. After gathering a few pictures of this picturesque setting with its reflection in the water, CG and I entered the shrine of Lord Ganesha.

A mere glance sufficed to realize why Swami was so insistent that we go before Him. The complex was packed and I sighted at least ten photographers and video cameramen in the premises. Swami's car was like a dam that held back surging floods behind it and once His vehicle was inside, the temple was almost washed away by the masses flooding in! There was a Sarvadharma Stoopa standing opposite to the sanctum sanctorum - only it was a stout variant of the one at Prashanthi Nilayam. Swami alighted from the car near the Stoopa and was flanked by a security perimeter consisting of security guards and the boys. Through the ramp He entered the small sanctorum. Fortunately, I managed to squeeze inside.

Swami lights the lamps and then, the eternal 'string-puller' pulls the string to do the life-instilling ceremony.

Shivajirao Jadhav, as commanded by Swami puts the neckalace
around his wife's neck.

The Pranaprathishta (the life-instilling ceremony after which the idol is considered as a Living God) in these parts of India is done in a different way compared to the South. A bundle of red and yellow coloured strings were tied at the base of the statue. Swami was handed the other end and He tugged at them. With that, the idols were now alive, charged into divine potency by the divine hands. Swami also lit the lamps in the temple. The Ganesha idol made of marble looked different. The sculpting styles in different regions in India shape the idols differently. This idol was so unlike the others I had seen in life so far; nevertheless it was beautiful. Swami was given a document which He went through quickly. He also blessed a pair of padukas with His sanctifying touch. Then when nobody expected, He materialized a beautiful golden necklace laced and studded with stones. Giving it to Shivajirao Jadhav, He asked him to place it around his wife's neck. Once that was done, Swami moved out.

A close up of the necklace that Swami created for Mr. Jadhav's wife.

Having understood the importance of being early at the scene of action from the experience at the Ganesha temple, CG and I ran out towards the next temple - the main shrine at Pandurangakshetra. Meanwhile, fireworks went off in the skies signaling to the gathered thousands that the Pranaprathistha (installation) at the Ganesha temple was complete.

to be continued in Part 5 at the following link:

Hadshi Mumbai diaries - Part 5 - The idols get instilled with life

For all readers:

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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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