Saturday, January 12, 2008 -Today evening students presented a drama about "Veera Anjinayam" Ram Bhakta (devotee) Hanuman and other great personas from Tulsi das's Ramayana, the life story of Sri Ram Chandra. Colourful costumes & a maganificient backstage transported the audience to the Sathwa yuga era of Rama. Our Swami Sai Rama watched the drama from the mandir veranda sitting on His chair. The other day Swami was in auditorium to watch the drama rehearsal by the Prasanthi Nilayam students and gave few suggestions to the students. The drama in English language was concluded with group song by the performers, expressing their gratitude & pranams to Swami. Swami came down from the stage to grant group photos for the participants while prasadam was distributed . Swami accepted the evening Arati before returning to His residence. click here for Photos 12th Jan.
Friday, January 11, 2008 -Today was the colourful Sports Meet function for which Swami's students were practising for the last few weeks. You can read an illustrated account of last year's function in last year's Prasanthi Diary. This year, Bhagawan arrived at the Vidyagiri stadium in His white Saab convertible resplendent in a yellow robe at 7.45 am. Motorcycle escorts and marching bands of the students welcomed their Chancellor to the dais and the marchpast began at 8 o'clock. When all the students had marched into the ground, the flag-hoisting, oath and torch-lighting ceremonies were a prelude to the display events by the different campuses. The Anantapur Womens' Campus of the University and the Brindavan undergraduates presented in the morning, the Primary School and the Prasanthi Nilayam Campus performed in the evening. Click Here for Sports day11th Jan. Photos
The Anantapur display began at 8.45 with graceful group dancing followed by a Far-Eastern group item with parasols and hand-fans. A sports medley followed, presenting hockey, tennis and volleyball movements in formation. Motorbike stunts was the next item, including criss-crosses, various poses on bikes, a breath-taking ramp-jump over 20 girls and a human pyramid of 38 girls on 9 bikes. The Anantapur students concluded their half-hour presentation forming the words "We Love U" in a group formation as their concluding song was played.
The Brindavan students then began with an equestrian show-jumping demonstration. A marching band presentation brought up a display of rolling in steel hoops and an aerobics exhibition. Timber-drill was the next item, with planks of wood being used in imaginative ways to aid acrobatic feats. The Celestial Rhythms then spelt out "We Love You" in a grid of students suspended by a crane nearly 80 feet above the ground. As the Brindavan presentation concluded, Bhagawan accepted Arati onstage and returned to the Mandir at 10 o'clock while an announcement was made about the afternoon presentations. Swami graciously granted group photographs for the Band groups of Anantapur and Prasanthi Nilayam and also the motorcycle escorts before He went into Yajur Mandir. Click Here for Sports day Photos
Bhagawan arrived at 3.25 pm in the afternoon in a maroon robe riding in His Mercedes sports convertible. As He reached the stage, tiny tots from the Primary School brought up bouquets to Him and began the afternoon's presentation. The hour-long Primary School presentation was a joyful riot of colour as usual, beginning with a "Ganesa" group dance by small boys. A classical mass-dance, hand-fans and flowers formations, gymnastics, mass flower-dance, dance by small girls with white wings and Mexican poncho dance followed in quick succession. Children dressed as deer, tigers, bunnies and monkeys performed various gymnastic feats on mats, ropes and poles. Their elder brothers and sisters may do motobike stunts, but the bicycle stunts by the Primary School boys were just as eye-catching. Unicycle stunts, even a basketball match played on unicycles, and then a rainbow dance led to their final dance balancing items on their heads, paying tribute to Bhagawan, the Light of Lights. Click Here for Sports day Photos
The students of the Sri Sathya Sai Higher Secondary School and the Prasanthi Nilayam campus of Sri Sathya Sai University began their hour-long performance at 4.30 pm with a striking mass item with classical dancers in the foreground and patterns made from colourful foldable discs forming a context for Krishna's beautiful Leelas - "Adharam Madhuram...". Gymnasts on moving trucks then presented balancing feats with giant flags fifty feet high. Gymnastic feats including jumps over vehicles and acrobatics on moving trucks led to a breathtaking display on ropes including a spectacular spin on a rope suspended more than 20 feet above the ground. The rope structure was also used as a trapeze stage, as roller-bladers scintillated on the ground below, ending their dramatic show with a series of jumps over a van. A precision gun drill was followed by a karate display which featured breaking tiles and pots and also mass nan-chak and stick displays. As the Prasanthi Nilayam campus came together for their final song, Bhagawan expressed how pleased He was at His students' performance and profusely Blessed them before leaving for His residence.
Thursday, January 10, 2008 - This morning, Bhagawan arrived at the Sai Kulwant Hall as the Bhajans went on, and made rounds of the verandah and the Hall in His chair before leaving for the Vidyagiri Stadium. There, He watched the practice sessions of the students till nearly 10.45 while Arati was offered at the Mandir after 10.15. In the evening, once again Bhagawan moved about in His chair during Bhajans before driving out, this time to the College Auditorium to watch the drama rehearsal by the Prasanthi Nilayam students. Arati was offered at the Mandir at 6 pm and announcement was made about the Sports Meet programme tomorrow in the Vidyagiri stadium. Bhagawan returned to His residence after the drama rehearsal at half-past six. Click Here for Sports day Photos
Wednesday, January 9, -Yesterday and the day before, Swami went in the mornings to the Vidyagiri stadium to watch the practice sessions by the students for the Annual Sports and Cultural meet on January 11th. Today He went in the evening at around 4.30 pm making an anti-clockwise round of Sai Kulwant Hall in the car before exiting through the Gopuram Gate. Returning at 5.45 pm to the Mandir, He accepted Arati from the car itself and returned to His residence after another anti-clockwise round of Sai Kulwant Hall. New Sunday, January 6, 2008 - Sai Youth from Maharashtra presented a drama on Chhatrapati Shivaji this evening in the Sai Kulwant Hall. Swami finished His darshan round in the car and arrived onstage after speaking for a few minutes to the Warden of the Brindavan campus of the Sri Sathya Sai University. The forty-five minute drama began at 5.30 pm and presented Shivaji as an ideal youth leader, depictin his love of Mother, Motherland and cultural values. Swami came down from the stage to grant group photos for the participants while prasadam was distributed before moving to the interview room. A few minutes later, He came out of the interview room, accepted Arati onstage and Blessed one of the participants with a chain before returning to His residence. click here for photos Saturday, January 5, 2008 -This evening had three programmes, presented by the North Eastern region of the United States, the Mahila youth wing of Maharashtra and Goa, and singers from Mumbai respectively. Swami came onstage just before five o'clock and started by Blessing some of the US devotees. Their musical presentation on Unity of Faiths got underway in five minutes. After listening to them for twenty minutes, Bhagawan asked for the next programme to commence. Meerabai's story was narrated in songs by the Maharashtra youth for half an hour. Bhagawan went into the interview room and returned, asking them to sing one more song. Sri Raviraj Nasery and party then presented a couple of songs before Bhagawan accepted Arati ten minutes past six. Friday, January 4, 2008 -This evening, the Sai Youth from Maharashtra and Goa presented a programme of songs and dances. Bhagawan came onstage at 4.45 pm after His darshan round in the car, and the group songs got underway. Next was a dance by tribal folk from Gadchiroli District. Various types of Aratis from Goa wound up the day's programmes, with the Bhajan "Ham Sab Milakar Mangal Gayein" leading to ten minutes of Bhajans and then Arati to Bhagawan at six o'clock.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008 -This morning, the Sai Students were seated in the centre of Sai Kulwant Hall. Bhagawan came after the Bhajans began and asked for chocolates and oranges to be distributed to the alumni while He sat onstage. In the evening also, Bhagawan arrived after the Bhajans had begun. He went around the Bhajan Hall and the Sai Kulwant Hall, accepting letters from many alumni and interacting with a few of them. He retired to His residence after accepting Arati at six o'clock.
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