Dear Swami, Happy 2008!!!

1/1/08

Smiles, smiles everywhere! The mood was upbeat with a lot of anticipation and excitement. We had all assembled in Kulwant hall by 7 am. Swami was expected to come at 8.30am. I sat in my place admiring the beautiful decorations above the portico. The alumni brothers were all seated in the front, some running here and there to make sure all arrangements are in place. They had all come with their families too.

Finally, at 8.30 am, we herald the New Year with the beautiful darshan of our lord. Lo and behold! Our Lord arrives in chair escorted by a procession of Vedam chanting and flag march by ex students. This darshan indeed seemed a special one, majestic with students holding a grand umbrella over Swami and waving peacock feathers around, as if welcoming an Emperor. Well, Swami is the king of our hearts and I can tell He was loving every moment of it just like us. It’s our great fortune to have such a nice darshan on the very first day of 2008. As He came by, some of us wished Him "Swami, happy new year".

Swami came to the portico and asked the programme to begin. Since yesterday there was a lot of confusion regarding the sequence of programmes as the present students too were ready with their programmes. This morning, Swami again changed the schedule and asked the Institute Band to perform first. After their pieces, out of the blue, Swami asked two elders to address the gathering. Later, He called an ex-student and asked him to speak. This brother was equally unprepared but spoke very well sharing two sweet experiences of his student days. Swami was very happy and materialized a chain for him. Later, there was a music programme where the alumni sang some songs, one of which was composed by our Lord way back in 1985! The morning session ended around 10.30 am.

Swami arrived in the evening at around 4.30pm. First, there was a bhangra programme by some ex-students who tried their best to dance in the limited space provided to them right before Swami. Swami was amused with their steps, but He blessed them all with padanamaskar. A Band programme followed, this time by ex-students who were part of the Band group in their student days. Swami was enjoying all of their pieces. For sometime, it felt like Swami had become the conductor as He was moving his Hand to the tunes more often than the Band leader himself! Soon after, there was a picture slideshow on a giant screen where old photos of swami with students were shown. Simultaneously, some ex-students narrated experiences from their student days with Swami. One of them narrated an incident where Swami had come to his rescue in his job. Swami took his form and worked in his office, while he went to a parents’ meet accompanying orphanage children.

Swami was extremely happy. He motioned for the alumni brothers to stop. It was His turn now to share His love and He motioned for the mike to brought over. I’ve mentioned about the discourse in my next post. At the end of the day, all I can say is, we couldn’t have asked for a better beginning to 2008. Thank you Swami.