VEERYAANJANEYA - fitting finale

It’s 3 pm in the afternoon and all actors have assembled in the hostel dining hall for their make up. I could see that it was a marathon of sorts for the costume and make up boys who were busy shuttling between different actors as the number was pretty huge. Since it was also a mythological drama, it was all the more difficult to cover 48 characters in a span of 2 hours.

At 5 pm, the drama was scheduled to begin but many of us were still caught up in hostel. Swami promptly arrived at 5 pm and was greeted by an empty stage with 2 trees as sets for the first scene. He asked where the boys are. Someone told Him that the boys are coming and requested Him to begin the drama at 5.30 pm. Swami was upset. Meanwhile, an elder person requested Swami to bless and inaugurate the tennis court where an official match was to be held between India and Phillipines. This upset Him even more, as He was eagerly waiting for the drama. Some unfortunately fortunate teachers had the chance to listen to Swami’s music for 10-15 minutes. Finally, at 5.15 pm, the drama began. I was among the last batch of boys to arrive in mandir. As our car entered the gate, we could hear the introduction of drama. One senior brother remarked, “Hey, that’s your drama.” We rushed inside the bhajan mandir where all characters and make up boys were waiting. We sat there calmly rehearsing the dialogues and getting final make up touches. They were probably the most nervous, funny and stupid emotions I’ve felt in my life.

As I sat in inside the bhajan mandir, I could hear loud applause on many occasions. It gave us confidence that the drama was progressing well. I was in the final scene and when I entered the stage, I was marvelled by the sets, having seen them for the first time. As I mentioned before, the sets were ready only in the last minute. Everything went on well with Swami’s grace. After the finale song, Swami was in tears. He called for the scriptwriter of drama and materialized a chain for Him. Obviously, it was the script and dialogues that won His heart. Later, He got up and called Rama, Lakshmana, Sita and Hanuman. He asked each one of them, “What is your name? Where did you come from?” He materialized a ring for Lakshmana. Later, He sat down and called each group belonging to their particular scenes and sat for photographs. Everyone, right from the lead roles to the costumes and sets boys, got the opportunity to feel the divine touch and get nice photographs.

Each group would go and speak with Him a few words. One boy asked, “Swami, how is Your health?” Swami replied, “My health is very good. Your drama is extremely good!”

Some asked as to how was their scene, the sets, etc. He said He was very happy with everything. “I am very very happy” was the common reply to everybody.

The lights were bright, our smiles even brighter. Swami returned back to Yajur mandir after aarati at around 7 pm. It was a night filled with pleasant memories that many would cherish and hold in their hearts for decades to come.