SPORTS MEET 2008: FEVER PITCH

Every day in Prasanthi Nilayam is unique, but few days stand out as exceptional and worth storing in the hard disk of our minds for eternity. Today is an event where a thousand hearts beat in unison to the Rhythm Divine. No amount of effort is spared by any student, whether a tiny tot or a post graduate, to ensure that the Heavenly smile lingers on His face for hours, soon getting etched in our memory as souvenirs for life.

Sports Meet 2008 also happens to be the last event for me as a Sai student and thus, it holds as much significance. Frankly, none of the programmes presented today were new; yet there were

The Morning Programme

All of us got up early and had breakfast as early as 6.00 am. At 5.30 itself, I could see the huge gathering of devotees assembled in the stadium from my window. We assembled for the march past by 7.30 am. The schedule in the morning was to begin with march past, followed by events of Anantpur and then Brindavan campus students.

At sharp 8 am, the escort procession began. First, it was the Anantpur campus Band which received Swami, later giving the baton to Institute brass band. The procession consisted of students in bikes, majestic horses and the slow march boys. As Swami came near the dais, I could see Him in a beautiful yellow robe arriving in white SAB sports car. Well, Swami always dresses to the occasion and it was a grand sight to behold.

As Swami went up to the dais, the march past began. The first to cross the dais were tiny tots from Primary school who were dressed in all sorts of colours, giving us an impression of a moving garden. They were followed by students from the University. After the march past and oath taking ceremony, the programes by Anantpur campus began.

The girls performed traditional Indian and Japanese dances in the beginning, which was later followed by a sports medley performed to the tune of Chak De India songs. These were pretty ordinary. Next came the bike stunts where many eyebrows went up. There was one stunt where a bike runs over the stomach of a student. After the student when the girl got up to thank Swami, we could see Him in tears. They were tears of joy that a typical mother feels when she sees her child performing for her. As I mentioned, no programme was new, not even the bike stunts, and we could even see Swami pointing out to the VIPs as to what would happen next. As some 18 girls lied down on the ground as obstacles for a ramp jump, Swami explained in detail to the people beside Him as to what was the stunt about!

After the Anantpur programmes, it was time for the Brindavan boys to show their skills. It began with show jump on horses by some students, followed by a mass display of acrobatics using planks and wheels. The last event was Celestial Rhythms where a group of boys perform various stunts on the grid 40 feet high above the ground. Apart from this item, there was little else interesting to come from the Brindavan students. But the fact that the boys had put in so much effort behind this event was enough to please the Lord. As he came down He blessed all the boys. It was 10 am when He returned back to Yajur mandir after aarati.

Evening Programme

The session was scheduled to begin at 3 pm. We weren’t expecting any grand entry from our Lord. Lo and Behold! He arrives in Merc wearing a rich red coloured robe! He used to wear this colour decades ago for our convocation. It was my little desire to see Him in red robe once. And there He is, ready to fulfill petty wishes of ours. Swami was escorted by a few primary school gymnasts wearing the costume of leopards, doing back somersaults.

The programme began with cultural items performed by the Primary school girls, like the Bharatnatyam and then a dance by seven year old kids wearing the mask of Ganesha. Swami was extremely happy seeing their dances. It was followed by gymnastics, stunts on poles and moncycles performed by boys. It was a grand spectacle to see so many boys and girls in a variety of colourful costumes.

After the Primary school, it was the turn of boys from Prasanthi Nilayam campus. Their programme began with an item called Conscious Dots where some 100 boys made formations with perfect synchronization. This was followed by Gymnastic performances. A group of boys on various trucks performed acrobatics and some of them held and balanced a couple of huge Chinese flags (about 30 feet high). There were stunts on ropes performed by the boys like the trapeze, free fall, etc. We could see the excitement on Swami’s face as He was explaining and commenting on every item to others around. Smiles refused to leave His face even for a second. There were other items like the martial arts, the gun drill, rollerblades, etc. Swami was even clapping for some of their performances. After the conclusion of their programme when the boys made a final formation, Swami raised His hand and clapped in appreciation. He blessed us with both hands. What more could we expect?

Yes, we need not expect anything more but He’s never short of surprises. As He came down from the stage after aarati, Swami asked our warden, “What about the drama?” Warden sir replied, “Swami, we are ready. Whenever you say, we’ll perform.” Perhaps, he was exaggerating. Swami said, “Okay, send the actors to Kulwant Hall immediately. I’ll come and watch the drama now.” The Warden was lost for words. He didn’t know what to say and looked around for cover. Yesterday, Swami had decided to see the drama on 15^th. Swami saw His plight and said, “Fine, I’ll see the drama tomorrow evening”. Well, tomorrow evening has a packed schedule with the inauguration of Tennis court in indoor stadium and a match between India and Phillipines. One of the organizers went forward and requested Swami to have the drama tomorrow morning. Swami refused, “Drama should be in the evening.” He called Prof Anil Kumar and told Him to announce about it. Mr Anil Kumar announced in such highly elevating words about our drama that we are having butterflies in our stomach, doubtful that we can deserve this praise tomorrow.

Anyway, all’s well that ends well and we can surely say there were more than a thousand happy faces that left the stadium today.