Jhoola Mahotsavam and Music Concert…
Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011
Prasanthi has endearing memories of this day, 23rd November, and in the saga of His Story, evenings of this day would often reach zenith of excitement as, invariably on every Birthday evenings, her Beloved Lord ushered in granting coveted darshan, revealing rare facets of His Divine majesty.
On this day, 23rd November, when the evening arrived, the focus of attention was at the centre-spot of Sai Kulwant Hall where the Jhoola, Swing for the Lord was awaiting Him.
The schedule for the big evening was ‘Jhoola Mahotsavam’, where The Lord was to swing to the accompaniment of music by renowned artistes.
The function commenced at 1730 hrs. with the unveiling of the Jhoola and the Sanctum Sanctorum. The Jhoola that had been profusely blessed by Bhagawan on many earlier occasions was bedecked with flowers and buntings and was a rare beauty to watch.
As the packed Sai Kulwant Hall witnessed the unveiling, for the audience, it turned out to be a transition from ‘i’ to “we’, an overwhelming feeling of Oneness, as the grandeur and the beauty and the pristine powerful vibrations emanating from the Sanctum Sanctorum, where Beloved Bhagawan’s physical frame was interned, touched every heart and soul, spreading into the blessed amphitheatre that looked resplendent with heavenly beauty.
The first programme for the eveing was a Mandolin Concert by maestro U. Srinivas and U. Rajesh. At the outset, offering Pranams and gratitude at Bhagawan’s Lotus Feet, reminscing the priceless opportunities they had with Bhagawan, the duo began invoking Lord Ganesha with a piece in Hamsadhwani Raaga, in Tala Roopakam.
…And the Jhoola carrying Bhagawan was pushed into swinging…a rare sight to see!!!
With the music on, and the Jhoola kept swinging, LED screens in the spacious hall telecast clips of Jhoola Mahotsavam from 65th Birthday celebrations.
The duo continued with a couple of Thyagaraja compositions before concluding with a bhajan “Shankara Shiva Shankara…”.
The second part of the programme was a vocal concert by renowned Ghazal and Bhajan singer Anup Jalota who carved a niche in devotional singing with his self adapted style.
In an introductory talk, he spoke about his first ever meeting with Bhagawan 48 years ago, at the age of 10, in Lucknow. Revealing that he has had many blessings from Bhagawan over the years, the singer confided that Bhagawan had even taught him nuances of the art of singing. With the blessings of Bhagawan he earned an opportunity to do playback for the famous Manoj Kumar movie , Shirdi Ke Sai Baba, where he sung with the renowned Mohammed Rafi. This turned out to be the biggest blessing as it changed his life and thus made his life, recounted Jalota, gratefully remembering his association with Bhagawan.
Sending ecstatic waves in to the audience when he began with Aisi Lagi Lagan, the packed assembly went into raptures. The singer continued for the next 75 minutes regaling the audience, producing some of his famous numbers, that included, “Man Mein Ram…”, “Sai Baba Bolo” from the film ‘Shirdi Ke Sai Baba…’, “Payo Ji Maine Ram Ratan Dhan Payo” and some bhajans, “Mera Jeevan Tere Hawale…”, Govind Jai Jai…Gopala Jai Jai, sang with a customised style coupling with Jhoola melody, Dum Dum Dum Dum Damaru Bhaje etc.
It turned out to be virtual reality for the audience as the video screens splashed Bhagawan swinging on the Jhoola, in synchronisation with Jalota’s singing. With his inimitable style of singing, singing from the depth of his heart to the heights of exalted heavens, completely immersed in his art, as he engaged in his inimitable ‘twists and turns’, highs and lows, harmoniously blending with tabla, the evening turned out to be a rare musical treat for the packed audience.
At the end, the artistes and accompanists for the evening were felicitated. Bhajans continued that ended with Subramaniam…Subramaniam in Bhagawan’s mellifluous voice, a perfect finale to the grand and glorious day, 23rd November.
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