Darshan News: October 25th, 2007

[Guest guest]

October 25th, 2007 Today Swami had permitted cultural presentations by the youth from Assam, Manipur and the othe North Eastern States of India. By about 2:30 pm the stage had been set and all waited in readiness for Swami's arrival. Swami came in the car at about 5:00 pm. He completed the darshan rounds and went into the interview room. But not for long, He came out immediately and sat on the stage and asked for the programme to begin.Announcements were made in both English and, surprisingly, chaste Telugu. The formal rose and card presentations followed after which the first item began. It was the popular Assamese Bhortal dance. Composed by the ardent devotee of Srimanta Sankardev, late Narahari Burha Bhakat, it was a dannce with brisk footwork and clanging of huge cymbals. The rhythmic dance was a blend of feminine grace and masculine power. It was performed for about 20 minutes and it built up to a wonderful

climax. There was a very appreciative applause after it was done.The second item was the "Dhol Dholok Cholom" dance from the state of Manipur. The Divine Radha-Krishna stories find their expression in these dances. Yaosang is a huge religious festival of Manipur and is associated with the worship of Lord Krishna and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. The youth from the Thoubal district of Manipur presented this item. Their acrobatic skills were brought to the fore as they leapt around banging the drums in feet-tapping rhythms. There was so much energy in the dances that one could feel the vibes everywhere. The pounding of the drums vibrated in the inner beings of all present. The dance reached its climax with rapid swirling of the dancers with their drums along with a pacy rhythm. All watched with gaping mouths as the dancers made their final formation.Swami was very happy with the performances. In fact, as the dances concluded all the dancers bowed and went back to

their places. Swami Himself called all of them to come up to the front. One particular dancer dressed in yellow impressed the most with his acrobatic steps. He was the lead dancer. Swami called Him and materialised a green diamond ring for him. All the dancers simply began falling at His feet and He sat patiently blessing all of them. There was so much joy on all their faces. Satiated with the Love they had received, they began to file out but Swami was not satisfied with the Love He had showered. He called them and told them to sit around Him in a neat semi-circle so that group photos could be taken.After the group photo session, Swami told them to start bhajans. He seemed to enjoy the bhajans a lot. Though it had become quite late, Swami sat for more than 5 bhajans. He blessed the prasadam to be distributed to all. Then He received Aarthi and as He was leaving, He blessed the copies of the group photos taken and said that they must be handed over to the

group.Click here to see pictures of the dances. Courtesy: http://www.saistudents.org