Ramanavami celebrations - a blissful evening in SFV

“SFV is second to none, isn’t it?” the man on my left whispered into my ears at the Club House this evening. 

“Did you mean the grandiose of the complex, its near-foolproof infrastructure, the spacious Club House, or the Ramanavami celebrations in progress right now?” I was about to ask him, to grade my response accordingly. But his tone was more affirmative than interrogative, and he hardly expected an answer. 

With more than 200 in attendance, the function started off invoking the blessings of Lord Ganesha - Vakrathunda Mahaakaya Surya Koti  Samaprabha… Incidentally, some books interpose “Surya Koti” with “Koti Surya”,  both convey the same meaning though. Similarly at the concluding prayer after Vishnu Sahasranamam recital some pray “Lokah Samastha Sukhino Bhavanthu, while others, “Samastha Lokah Sukhinio Bhavanthu. Of course here too the meaning remains unchanged. 

Anyway, not to miss the woods for the trees, the rendering of all bhajan songs by the Satsang group of ladies, all attired in blue by arrangement, was excellent - no less than professional. No one ever felt the absence of percussions - mridangam, tabla or harmonium. They had done their homework well. Yes, I have first-hand knowledge. I know how much I had put up with delayed dinner in the past few days of rehearsal. Kudos.

Until now we thought Prof Manikutty was capable of building leadership and management skills in IIM students at Ahmedabad and Bangalore. But today we were able to unearth another hidden treasure. Yes, given the need, he can switch over his voice from the hour-long  lectures at his class to some soulful bhajans as well. A laudable effort, Manikutty.

The devotional songs in assorted languages were simply captivating. The violin recital was good. The group songs by a few ladies fetched a good round of applause. Two classical dance performances  with the glittering costume were a real welcome change. The solo, Bhaktigeethe in Kannada which, by virtue of its positioning as the last item on the agenda, should have been lost in translation, But no. That too was well received.    

Naveen Kashyap took charge of the concluding ceremony, on behalf of SFVians. For a while he had a direct communion with Maryada Purushottam Ram, with a few prescribed mantras followed by Mangala Aarti and the humble offerings of the residents, prepared with devotion, love, and affection, in the form of Avalakki, Kosambari, Majjige, Panaka, and Rasayana all of which transformed into prasad for distribution. 

A lot of behind-the-scene activities had been going on among the Satsang ladies for the event. Each item of prasad was entrusted to one lady who would mobilise half a dozen others to ensure supply in the required quantity. It was nice to observe that everything went off well. 

I bumped into the same gentleman, this time busy doing justice to the plateful of prasadam. I whispered into his years, as he held on to his plate close to his chest rather guardedly, “You said it - SFV is second to none. I am sure you meant the Ramanavami celebrations?”  

In a fitting finale to the event, let me recite the first lines of Sree Sita Rama Ashtakam which traces the lineage Rama and Sita:

Ayodhyapura Nethaaram, Mithila Pura Nayikaam

Raghavaanam Alankaram, Vaidehanam Alankriyam.

This and a host of others (Vishnu Sahasranamam, Bhagavad Gita, Sivananda Lahari, Bhaja Govindam, to mention a few) were forced upon us, the younger generation in our household -  me, my two younger sisters, two elder brothers and our young uncle. Every afternoon during the summer vacation one could hear our reverberating, but unwilling, chant from the house as all the other village boys had a gala time playing cricket with the makeshift bat and stumps, football, marbles, or gulli dandda, under the banyan tree, with the adjoining pond accentuating the cool breeze. Yes, our grandfather was an advocate, and the Court too closed for summer vacation. He would hold us hostages to learn these by heart. Honestly, there were occasions when we hated why there ever was a summer vacation, more so for the Court. On reflection, however, I feel glad I am able to recite some of these slokas off the cuff. 

V V Sundaram

Maple 3195

05 April 2017