| Sun, Nov 21, 2010: 85th Birthday News & Photos - Festival of Divine Love: The countdown for the big day comes down to two days and with that the huzzle buzzle of the mammoth spiritual carnival peaked today with constant inflow of devotees throughout the day. After filling the available ashram apartments, the sheds and the temporary accommodation facilities, the fresh entrants are slowly occupying the building verandahs inside the ashram. Ladies darshan line turned out to become a long serpentine one, turning at every possible detour, finally ending up at the western end passing through the shopping centre - book trust buildings. Adding to this comes the security cordon in view of the VVIP movement expected tomorrow. Hon'ble Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, Chief Guest for 29th annual convocation of SSSIHL, is scheduled to fly down from New Delhi tomorrow morning to deliver the convocation speech. Governor of Andhra Pradesh, Sri ESL Narasimhan is already camping in Prasanthi ahead of the VVIP visit and some of the Union Ministers along with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister are expected to attend the glittering function scheduled for 11:00 hrs. tomorrow morning. This evening, penultimate day for the Annual Convocation, Bhagawan arrived at 1755 hrs. granting darshan to the packed audience. The stage was set for the annual convocation drama by the students of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning. The drama entitled "Twameva Sharanam Mama" depicted the story of a tailor who, when fell short to deliver a duty assigned to stich 16 pairs of dresses ahead of Bhagawan's 85th birthday celebrations, gets the unseen blessing of His chosen deity, Lord Vittala of Pandharpur, in response to his desperate call, as saving grace. Chinna Katha story involving King Alexander who invaded India, showcasing high morale exhibited by Bharatiyas of those days was shown as an anecdote. The drama ended with a Qawwali, sang in celebration of joy of His Advent. Upon the end of the drama Bhagawan posed for photograph with the drama crew before Mangala Arathi at 1915 hrs. One bhajan followed after which the cast sung the Prasanthi Love Song, Humko Tum Sey Pyaar Kitna... Bhagawan asked for an encore of "Samastha Lokaaha..." after which an announcement on the next day's convocation programme followed. It was announced that Prime Minister of India, His Excellency Dr. Manmohan Singh would be attending the Convocation as Chief Guest and the entry to the hall would be from 0900 hrs. onwards. Yajur Mandiram, the Divine Abode, is indeed the cynosure of all eyes. For an onlooker watching from outside, the Mandiram shines with brilliance under the shades of changing colour themes. Information Kiosks have mushroomed at every vantage points, aiding and guiding devotees, well managed by grateful old students (boys) of Bhagawan's Institute. Earlier, the 9th World Conference of Sri Sathya Sai Organisations - World Wide that got underway yesterday concluded this afternoon at 1430 hrs. with the final session held in the Poornachandra Auditorium. top | 
