Plaza Sangeet Kendra`s first concert!

Exciting news! Plaza students gave their very first concert outside of the ashram last week, on Christmas day. It was at a lovely hall in Omkarananda Ashram with about 300 people in the audience on the occasion of the birth anniversary day of Swami Omkaranandaji. The children played two ragas; Rag Bhupali and Rag Bilaval. The instruments included violin, sitar, slide guitar, guitar, tabla and vocal. More than twenty students took part. They played very well and people were really amazed as this was the very FIRST time that a children`s classical orchestra has ever given a concert in Rishikesh! Shivananda, our music director and principal, has really done a marvelous job! I recieved so many congratulations, the struggles to get the school underway were all forgotten! How can I thank you all who have generously contributed money, time, instruments and all kinds of much needed support? Now we have a chance to produce a really top notch children`s orchestra in North India even though Rishikesh is a small, religious pilgrimage town and the children are from our nearby localities! I feel strongly that it will be a contribution to the future of Industani classical music to which I personally owe so much for the hours of inspiration it has given me. Indian classical music is firmly rooted in spiritualism and many artists consider themselves spiritual sadaks. As it is mostly improvisation, it is deeply personal, played from the heart and the moment can never be repeated.
THANKS TO ALL OUR SUPPORTERS. THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING!

Eye Camp March 2006

This year was a very successful camp! More than 400 people registered and 95 people had successful catarac operations. I was especially gratified because at least 10 or 12 of those were men and women below the age of 40, in other words essential to their families and now could pull their weight in the family once again! This is often the difference between being poor and being destitute for six or seven people who depend on every member of the family. This is what it is all about for me and my smiti, Sri Krishna Kripa Sewa Smiti.
Many thanks to Somnath Konduru, you`re the best, so kind and patient! Ofcourse much gratitude to my dear friends in France at Terre-du-Ciel. Hanuman-Michel, Pascal and Joelle were able to accompany me to the camp and they were very touched how the poor people flocked to the camp for help. LETS DO IT AGAIN SOON!

Eye Camps

60% of the blind people in the world are in India and 60% of those people are blind because of cataracs. Which, ofcourse is usually possible to correct or atleast, restore sight with an insertable (intra ocular)lense plus eye glasses. When I first came to India I supported childrens` causes, but I soon realised that by and large parents do support their children as best they can, especially boy children, and where there was a need for outside support (like bonded labourers), there are many many NGO`s in India helping with children. On the other hand people who were actually blind, because of catarac, were uneducated, poor or destitute, in many cases ignorant of what was wrong with them and sadly ignorant that there is an easy cheap cure. But for some even "cheap" is too much expenditure. More important, blind people often have a whole family depending on them and when they were unable to carry on it was dragging the whole family down. In other words, when you restore a member of a poor family you restore everybody! I thought I can do much more good by restoring eye sight! It only takes a few dollars (like ten)for a catarac operation!
I have been donating money to conduct eye camps through charitable eye hospitals since many years. Unfortunately my yearly accounts of these camps got wiped off the internet when my website host callapsed but I still have all the photos which I share with you.

Ma with her beloved lepers in December 2005

December 2005. This year due to the generous donations of friends in France, we could visit the lepers twice and were able to give them all a new set of clothes as well as our yearly distribution of rice, cooking oil, sugar, soap and their favourite, tea leaves!
They are sooo sweet and grateful (equally for the love and attention I think!)and chanted "Sri Ram Jai Ram" the whole time. This time they told me we are the ONLY people who visit them outside of Shivananda Ashram who support them with rooms, medicine and some rations as well ofcourse. So congratulations to you all for being so caring and, THANKYOU THANKYOU THANKYOU from the lepers who shouted out "France ke JAI"!

Ma with the lepers 2003-2004

Every Boxing Day (viz. December 26) Ma visits her beloved lepers




December 2004 This year my beloved friend Brian and the folks from Heronwood Farms in Toronto Canada treated the lepers to more tea leaves, sugar, and soap. The big thing this year was their request for cooking oil and we were able to supply them with the whole year`s worth! What a joy for me. Thankyou so much Larry and Sara.



December 2003
Owing to various reasons I am horribly late in posting this news to all of you who have donated so generously for our work with the lepers, infact the whole web site has been neglected since the last many months! As some of you know, two or three times a year I visit one of the several leper colonies in and near Rishikesh. I find that by and large they are supported by some of the bigger ashrams here in Rishikesh, but they do not get any "extras" in their lives (like warm clothes, or tea leaves, and sugar) and so they still need to go out begging. As much as the extras, they do not get any love from society whatsoever and are regarded as having a plague. They are so touched by my visits! They tell me I am the only outside person who ever visits them!

Leprosy, or Hansen`s disease, (a Britisher named Hansen discovered the tiny difference TB bacterial infection went through, in only some people, to become the nerve disease Leprosy)is completely curable, not infectious, and if treated in time, does not manifest any of those typical stunted limbs and collapsed noses which distinguishes lepers. Here in my part of India as with many other places in the world, lepers are feared and abhorred and made to live together in separate colonies where they mostly survive by begging, although they are taught some simple crafts sometimes as well. A notable exception to this is Vinoba ji`s ashram in Wardha where the lepers are in charge and serve the local community! The colonies in Rishikesh are luckier than some because a few ashrams collect donations for them. One colony in Rishikesh has a very dedicated swami who has lived with them and treated their symtoms since years.

The thing which touches me is their sweetness and humility despite being treated so badly by society! Also, I was shocked to learn that many of them are educated people like engineers and even one doctor! How could this happen? The Indian government takes out ad campaigns informing the public that Leprosy is curable, and the medicines are free. You have to hear their individual stories to believe how this has happened to them. What a karma! They will never be able to mix in normal society or meet their friends and relatives ever again.

So, as in every year on Boxing Day, (I am writing this on 12/26/03), we distributed $300.00 worth of goodies to the lepers including new long underwear and tea leaves (their favourite treat!). They have asked for extra rice which we will give to them in the next week or so. Thanks to all of you on my tour in the United States who so kindly contributed!



Ma giving out warm underwear. The lepers patience and sweetness is so touching!