Parthi Update 23-11-2005 -EVENING SESSION

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HERE WE ARE… EVENING SESSION

FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> !!! HAPPY BIR

Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">THDAY T

Roman'">O BELOV

normal">ED SWAMI !!! Sairam. The experience that we all had this evening is

unforgettable. We have never witnessed something like this ever before. We have

been literally transported into some other world. We will now try to take you

through a feel of this experience, though words will surely fail to do that.

TEXT-ALIGN: justify">We assemble in the Shanti Vedika grounds on the green mats

by 3.45 p.m. The programme is scheduled to begin at 5.00 p.m. The clouds are

still hanging heavily in the sky and the possibility of a heavy downpour cannot

be ruled out. However, devotees throng in oblivious of these

possibilities. A light drizzle continues as we await Swami's arrival to the

stadium. An elegant tent like shelter has been set up on the stage to protect

the artistes from the drizzle. It is 4.25 p.m. Crowds are still pouring in.

Videos of earlier celebrations are being projected on the giant screens to keep

the public engaged.

mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">It is 4.50 p.m. and the procession

begins. Colourful dances with vibrant music lead the presentation. Dance

troupes hail from different states of India and exhibit their cultural items as

they proceed along the central red pathway. The band teams from the Primary

School and Prasanthi Nilayam Campus come behind these dances. The last

contingent of the convoy is a Bhangra dance troupe from the Higher Secondary

School. A wonderful song in Telugu is being played on the system. Puttina Roju

Sai Puttina Roju; Satyam Dharmam Shanti Premalaku Panduga Roju, Happy Birthday

to You Bhagawan Sri Sai Ram. Swami is wearing a yellow colour robe. At sharp

5.00 p.m., He reaches the dais. The chair rolls out of the Toyota Porte and

moves onto the lift in front of the dais. Up goes the lift and Swami enters the

stage. When the curtain parts, we see Bhagawan sitting on an exquisite silver

throne that has an umbrella extending from it - also in silver, like a chariot.

The throne has a green velvet cushion contrasting with Swami's yellow robe.

Looks just too good!

justify"> Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma and other artistes seek His Blessings. It is

5.10 p.m. Actor Sai Kumar starts the compering. He glorifies the Sai Avataar

highlighting the yeoman service

rendered by Bhagawan to humanity. He then welcomes the first artiste to take

over the stage. It is none other than Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma and his son

Rahul Sharma. Panditji offers his Koti Pranaams to Swami. The stage has been

brightly lit. The lotus petals in the background are beautifully illuminated

with a rose colour light. Above the stage on a metal structure, a number of

lights are arranged to add

colour to the show. Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma has performed even on Swami's 60th

and 70th Birthday. He considers this as his greatest fortune. Melodious Santoor

charges the air in the stadium. After a scintillating performance, he concludes

his fascinating piece with ‘Baba We Love You’ chorus. The whole stadium breaks

into applause. The next artiste is Ustad Amjad Ali Khan on the Sarod with his

sons Amaan and Ayaan. The clock strikes 5.30 as they take over the stage. His

first piece is titled 'Truth' and is specially composed for Bhagawan's

Birthday. The second piece is Ragupati Raghava Raja Ram. The audience receives

the performance very well. The backdrop on the dais where Swami is seated is

visible clearly to us. There are pillars dividing the backdrop into arches with

floral decorations

on the top of the arches. The opening leading to the backstage has been made up

very professionally with silk and flowers. The next artiste is Begum

Parveen Sultana - the queen of Hindustani Classical Music. She has had the

privilege of performing on most of Swami's Birthdays. She sings her common hit

songs – Sai Tero Maya Aparampaar, Payoji Mene Nama Ratana Dhana Payo and Sai

Ram Sai Ram Sumirana Karo. As she concludes, the evening light gets dimmer. All

the decorative lights in the stadium come on. Above the hill we find cute

coconut trees made of just lights. The Ad Block and Museum on the hill are

illuminated with colours that keep changing from time to time. Looks majestic!

At

maroon; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">6.10 p.m.

the Laser Show commences. The green Laser beams emanate from the top of the

stage on the Ladies Gallery side and stretch out across the stadium creating

all sorts of patterns and shapes. The show goes on accompanied by the music

from ‘Mission Impossible’. All the people are thrilled and start clapping. As

this show goes on, the other lights are put off. At

6.15 p.m. Sai Kumar welcomes Smt. Kavita Krishnamurthy and her husband Dr.

L. Subramanian onto the stage. The first item is Vataapi Ganapatim Bhaje

Ham on the violin by Dr. L. Subramanian. Swami keeps beat with His hand as the

tune is played. This is followed by a Birthday song specially composed for the

occasion. The uniqueness here is that 80 students from the

'Times New Roman'">Sri Sathya Sai University join the artistes in chorus. The song

goes something like this – Baba we seek Your Blessings, Bhagawan Satya Sai Baba

– You are the Guiding Light – Happy Birthday to You. At 6.40 p.m. Swami goes

backstage for a while. Meanwhile, the singer Dana Gillespie, very well known to

all Sai devotees, takes over the

stage. Sai Kumar requests all the people to be seated saying that Swami will

come onto the stage in a while. He asks the people not to be worried about the

drizzle as by Swami’s Grace nothing would happen to anybody. Dana Gillespie

begins her presentation at 6.50 p.m. She sings two pieces – The Rose of my

Heart and The Promise.

mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">The final performance is by Richa

Sharma who sings a Bhajan in her unique style. The moment she completes her

performance, the lights in the stadium go dim and the Laser show begins once

again. This time there are many more laser beams spreading across the stadium

from even the Hanuman hill top. Thousands of beams spread crazily across the

grounds but with flawless precision. Some beams stop abruptly in mid air with a

dot while others form patterns on whatever they strike. Loud music with heart

throbbing beats fill the air. Suddenly from nowhere, rockets spring into the

skies and burst forth with colourful stars. The rockets were blasted off from

the college campus and also from the Ad Block Hills. For the next 15 minutes or

so we all are gripped with awe and wonder.

justify"> The display of fireworks is too spectacular. The frequency with which

they are shot into the sky and their bursting forth into clusters of colourful

sparks – red, green, gold, silver…all this leave us wonderstruck. Soon the sky

is full of smoke but then piercing this smoke the rockets go through and emerge

with bright sparks. We literally feel that we are watching the Big Bang. It

looks as though galaxies after galaxies are exploding and imploding, thus

giving birth to the Universe.

FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> All the while,

Bhagawan keeps watching the display in the sky, possibly laughing at our wonder

and surprise at this seemingly great display. After all for Him, this would be

something like lighting a small match stick. For He is the One who is the

source of the Big Bang. He is the power in all these crackers and also the

splendour inherent in their manifestation.

inter-ideograph; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">After this brilliant presentation of

fireworks, all the artistes came down from the stage and walk upto the Shanti

Vedika dais and go onto the dais towards Bhagawan. The screen comes down. But

we can see Swami interacting with them for a long time. At 7.30 p.m. Bhagawan’s

chair rolls onto the lift. As Swami descends

in the lift, just as He descended onto this earth 79 years back, He Blesses all

with His Abhaya Hasta. He then gets into the car. As the car starts its journey

towards the Mandir, once gain there is a short display of crackers in the night

sky. All this while, another song specially composed for the occasion is

being played on the system. Aashayen Mile Dil Ki, Ummide Hasen Dil Ki….As the

Toyota Porte glides along the pathway, we catch our last glimpse of His

beautiful face on this holy day. Surprisingly, the drizzle that is on all

this while suddenly stops. It seems as though Mother Nature has put on her A/c

so long as the programme is on – for the audience. The moment the programme is

over and the audience starts leaving, she promptly switches off the A/c.

Another important point is that even though there is a drizzle all along, it is

so beautiful. It

is neither too light nor too heavy. The drops fall on us like dew drops and

settle down like pearls on our faces and body. It is Bhagawan’s way of Prasadam

distribution!! We feel as though Swami has cleansed all our bodies and minds and

given us a fresh lease of life. As the car moves out of the stadium, the

crowds start dispersing to their destinations. We return to the Hostel with a

feeling of immense joy and fulfillment. Expressing gratitude to Bhagawan for

having given us an opportunity to witness such a grand event we also pay our

silent gratitude to the coordinators of this mega event who have planned every

bit of it so meticulously. There were a hundred odd things to be planned and

executed. All of it went on with clockwork precision and with no lapses

whatsoever. It is all due to His Love and Grace. Let us all surrender

ourselves at the Lotus Feet of this compassionate Lord and as a mark of our

Love for Him, let us all make every possible attempt to follow His Message and

Teachings to redeem our lives and to bring that lovely smile on His face.

Sairam. A Anantha VijayaH.No.247Nizarapar RoadChandmari

ColonyGUWAHATI - 781 003Mob: 9954206469 / 9954037252

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