The Divine Playground
The Divine Playground
Om Sri Sai Ram
The Magic of Kodai
Imagine! Early morning you are sitting just in front of Swami’s bedroom, Swami comes out of His room and then standing beside you (His robe touching your shoulders) looks out of the window and softly and sweetly hums a divine tune! Or, imagine Swami narrating jokes and humorous anecdotes and smiling and laughing for more than an hour and you are sitting there right in front feasting on this glorious sight! Or, imagine Swami pretending He needs help and asking for your hand and then walking a few steps, His soft and tender palm holding your hand! Or, imagine Swami talking about Lord Rama and then in a jiffy waving His hand and producing a beautiful medallion with Rama’s portrait n it just in front of your eyes and saying, “Look, this is how Rama looked when He was about to be crowned”!
Or, ..or, imagine you are in the plane and Swami walking on the aisle after take-off and coming near you and enquiring if you are comfortable and then asking for your palm and filling it with chocolates! Or, imagine Swami rocking on the tastefully decorated swing and listening to your songs most delightfully! And even giving rhythm to your song by playing the cymbals in perfect synchronization with your music! Or, imagine going with Swami to the highest point in a serene hill station – you are standing in the midst of a cloud – and there Swami posing with you for an exclusive photograph! Or, imagine…well this could go on and on. For, this is the Lord’s Divine Play, most blissful, ever rejoicing, never ending. And this is just a glimpse. A glimpse of the glorious saga that unfolds when Swami is in “Sai Shruti”, His picturesque abode in Kodai Kanal.
Tucked away among the Palani Hills of Tamil Nadu, in South India, and jealously guarded like a prized jewel by the dark forests, is this heavenly hill station of Kodaikanal. In fact, the name itself, in Tamil means “Gift of the Forest”. You could not have imagined a more provocative and appropriate name for this quaint, clean and green little hill station where the air is intoxicating, the scenery breathtakingly beautiful, and the serenity seldom found in other hill stations. No wonder this exquisite locale has been the Lord’s choice to be His playground summer after summer!
At 2133 m above sea level and 120 kms from Madurai is located this lovely hill station in the southern crest of the upper Palani Hills in the Western Ghats. They say, the best way to spend time here is to just be here and appreciate the beauty. Now, what if you are there enjoying the beauty of Kodai and along with it the beauty of its creator too! Well… that is the magic of being in Kodai during the Lord’s visit here, because the whole place transforms into a dream world. And if you are someone picked up by Swami to be in His troupe, you have an opportunity that has no equal. It is the fulfillment of your prayers of a million life times!
Imagine Swami coming near you while you are having lunch and the Divine Mother asking for an extra helping of your favourite dish to be served to you as you gaze at His compassionate form! Or, imagine you are walking with Swami on the manicured lawns and suddenly there is a small breeze and with great joy you watch the wind playing with Swami’s silken copious hair! Or, imagine you are in a sedan behind Swami’s car and as Swami’s car passes, you witness the devotees’ joy and thrill – some crying in excitement, some hugging each other for they have caught a glimpse, some still in awe and disbelief, some jumping in joy!
Or, imagine Swami filling your hand with currency and then asking you to go for shopping, boating and horse-riding! And not only that – when you come back, enquiring in detail about your purchases and your rides and as you are narrating, revealing His omniscience so casually, so unceremoniously! Or, imagine early morning Swami coming to you and enquiring if you had good sleep and rest and then all of sudden producing a big resplendent diamond and then asking, “Come on! Who wants to take it?” …Well, these are the kind of experiences and ecstasies that Swami’s visit to Kodai Kanal is composed of. The whole ambience becomes so very divine, so full of delight and full of bliss.
This Year…
After a hiatus of a year, Swami visited Kodai this April-May to the delight of the devotees, students, Kodai’s residents and Mother Nature.
It all started on the 19th of April when Swami emplaned from Puttaparthi around 12.30 pm in an Indian Airlines Flight to Madurai. The plane landed at Madurai in an hour and hundreds had gathered at the airport for a glimpse. And there was an even bigger crowd waiting for Him at a bungalow in Gangavarapatti where He was supposed to stop over for a while. Swami and the boys reached there in an hour. After the boys had their lunch there, Swami came out of the bungalow, blessed the waiting devotees, enquired with the boys if everything was alright and the journey resumed. The rest of the 120 kms to Kodai Kanal was to be on road.
Behind Swami’s car followed the students’ bus. The boys could not wait to get there. There was joy inside and joy outside. The panorama outside the bus’s window through the turns and curves of the Ghat road was exhilarating. What a relief it was to leave the hot, dusty plains behind and drive up into the cool hills! They watched the vegetation gradually change from palm-fringed paddy fields to wild brush with flaming blossoms to plantations interspersed with stately silver oaks. And driving higher, it was such a rejuvenating experience when the cool mountain air brushed their cheeks! The whole countryside, dotted with wildflowers in jeweled colors, magenta and purple, was truly a breathtaking sight. But the boys’ thoughts were not on the glorious mountain outside the window but on the glorious days that were to come inside Sai Shruti.
The excitement increased every passing second in their hearts as the destination got closer and closer. At about 7 pm, they reached the hallowed hill station. All the boys alighted from the bus and stepped into “Sai Shruti” and good gracious! Swami was there waiting for them! Their hearts pumped with delight for all the thirty seven knew they had stepped literally into Sai’s own home! They were to live almost every moment with Him in His beautiful abode for heaven knows how many blessed days!
