Swami's 99th Birthday 2024 - Sathya Sai Centre of Leicester

Leicester Sai Centres Swami’s 99^th Birthday Celebrations

The Leicester Sai Centres celebrated Swami’s 99^th Birthday at the Platinum Suites on Saturday 23^rd November in full glory to mark this very special occasion. After weeks of planning and preparing the teams came together with a smile and put on a magnificent celebration for Swami.

The day began with an outdoor Nagarasankirtan Bhajans in the car park of the venue and despite the rain and cold the energetic bhajans kept everyone warm in spirit and in body!

Then began the set-up. For weeks a “Mandir Team” spent days and evenings building (yes building) a replica of the inside of the Prasanthi Mandir which takes centre place in Prasanthi Nilayam. Each of the symbols and structures were intricately carved and painted with love for Swami. Then all these pieces were transported to the venue and re-constructed on the stage to re-create the Prashanti Mandir (see pictures below). To say this brought Prashanti Nilayam to Leicester is an understatement and something that has to be seen to be believed!

Then the altar and stage decoration teams took over and Swami’s Jhoola was placed in the audience for Him to clearly see the whole programme. The Jhoola looked so romantic as it swayed Swami back and forth under hundreds of tiny spotlights which looked like stars.

The programme began with melodious bhajans, and a beautiful Ganesh dance performed by the Group 2 Bal Vikas children which helped bring an auspicious vibration to the start the programme.

This was followed by Chiragbhai who led a wonderful Paduka Pooja and enabled all those present to partake in the worship of the Lotus Padukas of our bellowed Swami. It was so heartening to see so many people participate in the puja and so many of them did this as couples or families. Most of the items for the puja were lovingly prepared in advance and these were ready for the devotees on arrival so that they could partake in every offering and element of the puja.

We were then entertained and educated with the first of two Bal Vikas plays based on Swami’s own stories and parables written in the Chinna Katha books. The Group 4 students also took to the stage and presented Swami’s Life story and messages and managed to capture the essence of Swami’s life teachings in just a few minutes. Later in the programme the G3Y3 students were presented with certificates for their project work which was such a proud moment for all the devotees. The presence of our Bal Vikas students, teachers and parents was felt throughout the programme and was much loved by all.

Our National Media coordinator, Dr Amit Patel, lit up the stage with an interactive quiz which was a wonderful addition to the programme and had the audience gripped in competition to see who would win the quiz!

We were also honoured to have Dr Saiswarup Badrinath (Alumnus of SSSHSS) as our guest speaker and he took us on a journey of his experiences of Swami’s love from childhood to this present day. His interactions with Swami through dramas and life as a Bal Vikas student, not only inspired our own young children but also the adults. His parting message was the question What is the biggest achievement of the Sai Avatar? And he answered: It is when Swami can look at each of us and say: “Their transformation is the result of my mission being successful”. The whole audience was left contemplating these wise words for such a long time even after the programme had finished.

We then had a short panel discussion highlighting three of many activities which Leicester Sai Centres have started to implement to mark Swami’s centenary year. The first panellist talked about the “activity afternoons” the team was undertaking in new care homes (not the usual ones we visit); the second project is a simple Personal Sadhana project that everyone can easily do from home and finally we ended with a touching presentation about the Baby Care Packs project which will help newborn babies and their mothers both in Sierra Leone and in Prashanti’s General hospital. Many people were seen taking photos of the slides and so we hope that by spreading Swami’s work and mission in this way, more hands will want to join these great projects.

The young adults, who had been practicing for this day for months, brought energy and enthusiasm to the grand finale of the programme with a beautiful Qawwali – Sai Teri Pooja Karunga, a vibrant bhajan medley and of course Swami’s Birthday song!

As you would expect, no Birthday event is complete without a cake. However, this wonderful cake was topped with a Stupa and the 99^th Birthday emblem in all its glory – we think this could even take centre stage on the Great British Bake Off!

After this we ended with Aarti which was followed by mahaprashadam where we all enjoyed a sumptuous meal together and reflected on the events of the day!

Looking around throughout the day, there was a tremendous feeling of love which could only come from Swami and for whom we are eternally grateful for making this Birthday celebration so memorable.