The masters look on as the festivities are readied
Richa scatters rose petals at the altar
Gaily bedecked chairs
Swamiji's cake
Latha at the entryway
Unexpected showers make entry slippery!
Guests await Swamiji
The wait continues as Swamiji is uncharacteristically late -- but with ood reason, as we'll learn
Haridas steps in to lead chanting
In Swamiji's absence, early refreshments are given out
The lengthy chanting creates lovely ambience for Swamiji's eventual arrival
Rain showers alternately come & go
In the shoe pile-up, Manoo finds a photo opportunity . . .
. . . & receives a sisterly greeting from Cecilia
Swamiji at last, escorted by Dharmadas, Damodar, & Nirmala
He takes his place as the programme is introduced
The choir sings several of Swamiji's songs
"Walk like a man, even though you walk alone . . ."
"When you come from Napoli, la, la, la, la, la, la, la!"
Everyone joins in on the chorus!
"When the cherries bloom, Kyoto sings all day long . . ."
"Home is a green hill, far, far away . . ."
Swamiji explains his delay, due to a nadi reading that the pundits insisted must be done that day . . .
. . . "even though I told them I had a birthday celebration!"
Swamiji sits after speaking but little, asking Nirmala to share some of the reading
The uniqueness of Swamiji's reading becomes clearer as we learn the pundits asked to give it at his house, something never done
Nirmala shares many amazing parts of the reading
"He is here to uplift many . . . people will come to understand the intricacies of his teachings . . . what he is building will be a success"
Nirmala announces that Swamiji's reading goes to age 91 & may not stop then!
Taking in the import of the reading, many guests are on the edge of their seats . . .
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A nadi reading is as much a blessing as a prediction . . . but now it's time for our own blessing of Swamiji
Dhyana leads the blessing
Duly blessed!
Priti presents Swamiji with a sugarless cake she baked just for him
Swamiji cuts the main cake
One by one, guests come up for Swamiji's blessing
Nirmala calls attention to Mr. Bij's new nayaswami colours
Sharad, his brother, & wife Shivani
Dhyana & Rony enjoy their up-close view of the blessings
Anjali's smile is contagious!
2 children of God take stock of each other (Prithvi)
Kuldeep looks over something he has prepared for Swamiji
Vibha exchanges family news with Swamiji
Natalia of Brazil . . .
Viswananda of Argentina
Chenga
A double blessing for Shivani & Damodar . . .
. . . who emerge all smiles!
Lakshmi clicks mid-blessing
At last, Swamiji gets to his cake
Manoo's camera work attracts interest
Ria tries her luck with the lens
Service volunteers load trays at the dessert table
Kanta gives the cake star rating
A purchase at the Ananda Publications table
Amber & Simran (discussing good reading?)
After a quiet exit, Swamiji is tucked into his car . . .
. . . and heads for a little rest before leaving for Italy in a few days
Time for take-down
One of many bouquets for Swamiji will go to his house with Miriam
Dharmaraj discusses Swamiji's reading with Divya & Archna as they put away lights
Flowers may fade but not the memories from this birthday celebration
Natalia of Brazil
