McCallion hails 'Amma' as inspiration to all

[Guest guest]

Following is some local media coverage of the

fundraising dinner the Amma Foundation of

Canada/Toronto satsang held earlier this month. Hazel

McCallion is an 80-something battle axe who has been

mayor of Mississauga, ON since about 1963. Can hardly

wait to see her get Amma's darshan. The hotel where

Amma's programs will be held is in the sprawling

suburban wasteland of Mississauga.

 

 

http://www.weeklyvoice.com/CNews/?CNewsID=526320

 

McCallion hails 'Amma' as inspiration to all

By Bala Menon

 

Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion has hailed India's

'Hugging Saint" Mata Amritananda Mayi, known to her

disciples as Amma (The Mother) as an 'inspiration to

people all over the world".

 

McCallion was addressing more than 500 participants at

a gala dinner at Sangam Banquet Hall last Saturday,

held as part of preparations to welcome Amma during

her first visit to Toronto in late July, at the end of

a long summer tour of the US.

 

The mayor talked of the spirit of volunteerism that

has been the backbone of social welfare activism in

Canada and how it has helped build and strengthen

communities.

 

Commending on the charitable work being done by the

Amma Foundation of Canada, she said 'Mississauga,

Ontario and Canada benefited from such community

spirit."

 

Comparing Amma to Mother Teresa, the Mayor said in a

lighter vein "If anything good has to be done in this

world, it has to be done by a woman..."

 

Earlier, Dr. Kuldip Kular, MPP for Brampton, spoke of

how impressed he has been of Amma's work for the poor

in various parts of India and how inspiring she has

become to millions of people round the world.

 

Master of Ceremonies at the event were Arun Luthra and

Anna [Kamalam] Demetrakapoulos who seamlessly merged

the various events. A highlight was a silent auction -

with some wonderful home decor and other pieces

donated by companies and individuals.

 

A slide presentation by Dr. Parvathy Nair on Amma's

various institutions - including the state-of-the-art

heart hospital in south Kerala, her various other

charitable organizations and work by volunteers gave

an insight to the audience about the scope and

magnitude of social work being done at the grassroots

level in rural India.

 

Anna Demetrakapoulos gave a brief outline of the

threat of AIDS in India and how Amma and her ashram

volunteers are involved in the battle against the

disease. A hospice in Kerala is doing some wonderful

work in this regard and a two-pronged approach of

education and medical treatment is said to be working

wonders.

 

A very sentimental account of her personal experience

at the Vallikavu Ashram at Kollam in Kerala was given

by Carol Watson. Carol spent a lot of time with Amma

and narrated several touching moments of her

interaction with Amma and other devotees.

 

Gail Christie also made a presentation. [fortunately

she didn't mention the minor fender-bender and other

adventures I shared with her on the way to Detroit

last November! Keval]

 

Entertainment during the evening was provided by noted

local singer-composer Venky Iyer and his group, which

included his talented son Abishek - whose song and

dance sequence of 'Dolare, Dolare' from Devdas drew a

good round of applause.

 

Another singing star of the show was Prashant

Vishwanathan, a Grade 9 student in a Mississauga

school.

 

Chandrima Bhattacharya, Aarthi Sankaran and newcomer

Subha Krishnan rendered some lilting Hindi melodies.

Manoj chipped in with a hit song by Frank Sinatra. [no

he didn't sing "My Way" in Hindi!! K.]

 

Top Bharata Natyam dancer and teacher Gitanjali

Kolanad introduced a change of pace and rhythm with a

superb demonstration of some 'kalari payattu' (an

ancient Kerala martial arts form) techniques. She was

accompanied during the show by Yan Montgomery. A brief

dholak performance by Vishal Luthra was preceded by a

draw for several door prizes, a raffle and closing of

bids on the silent auction.

 

Norm Stoneburgh, on behalf of the Amma Foundation of

Canada, proposed a vote of thanks, saying that it was

impossible for anyone to come into contact with Amma

and not experience a complete change in mental

attitudes. The Toronto group has been group has been

conducting a variety of charitable activities:

contributing money, clothes and household appliances

to charities such as Covenant House, Scott Mission,

Red Door Shelter and

 

Mississauga Community Living; collecting canned

non-perishable food items for Eden United Church;

assisting at soup kitchens run by Scott Mission,

Salvation Army and St. Felix Church. Toys, donated by

the manufacturers are being distributed to children

through charities such as Red Door, St. Felix Church,

Humewood House, Kawartha-Haliburton Children's Aid

Society and Native Canadian Centre of Toronto.

 

The evening ended with more music from Venky Iyer's

Group.

 

 

Original Publication Saturday, April 10, 2004

 

 

 

 

 

 

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