What a joy to receive Arun Dada and Jignasha in America today! See some photos here.
He arrived with first-class karma (courtesy of Jiggy insisting on him using a wheelchair :)). Audrey raced up to go touch his feet (later, at dinner, he gave a new name to Audrey -- "OldTree"). Bradley offered him a hand-made heart pin! We all hugged, bowed, laughed, and felt so grateful. Ari came by with his own version of a pin for Arun Dada and Jignasha that read: Love is the Answer. We did a parikrama of Banyan Grove, while remembering Pancho (who is on a pilgrimage as we speak!) and the beloved Pandya Sisters. Guri had prepared a royal Gujarati feast, where Arun Dada told me to save some for tomorrow LOL -- until he himself joined the party and went for second round of dessert (specifically inquiring about the ingredients!). We heard profound Vinoba stories at every encounter, with Jiggy's context peppered in between (like how she had just watched Deven and Simmu in a movie on Auroville, on the plane!) Between Arun Dada tasting his first-ever Avocado and the end of the dinner, the stories went to another level. "Oh, so Vinoba was into masti too?" Audrey asked at one point. Arun Dada laughed his silent laugh and gave another sweet story affirming the case. :) Jignasha was beaming her mischievous smiles all day, like that TA who already knows all the answers before the teacher even asks the question.
What a delight, and a particular honor to welcome Arun Dada and his Gandhian lineage on this land -- for the very first time. It's only been a couple hours (and we have lot more masti planned :)) but we're already all smiles. :) At this point, the main questions we're holding is -- will Arun Dada wake up at 3:30AM tomorrow? :)
Thank you, all. Such things cannot happen without an ecosystem.
He arrived with first-class karma (courtesy of Jiggy insisting on him using a wheelchair :)). Audrey raced up to go touch his feet (later, at dinner, he gave a new name to Audrey -- "OldTree"). Bradley offered him a hand-made heart pin! We all hugged, bowed, laughed, and felt so grateful. Ari came by with his own version of a pin for Arun Dada and Jignasha that read: Love is the Answer. We did a parikrama of Banyan Grove, while remembering Pancho (who is on a pilgrimage as we speak!) and the beloved Pandya Sisters. Guri had prepared a royal Gujarati feast, where Arun Dada told me to save some for tomorrow LOL -- until he himself joined the party and went for second round of dessert (specifically inquiring about the ingredients!). We heard profound Vinoba stories at every encounter, with Jiggy's context peppered in between (like how she had just watched Deven and Simmu in a movie on Auroville, on the plane!) Between Arun Dada tasting his first-ever Avocado and the end of the dinner, the stories went to another level. "Oh, so Vinoba was into masti too?" Audrey asked at one point. Arun Dada laughed his silent laugh and gave another sweet story affirming the case. :) Jignasha was beaming her mischievous smiles all day, like that TA who already knows all the answers before the teacher even asks the question.
What a delight, and a particular honor to welcome Arun Dada and his Gandhian lineage on this land -- for the very first time. It's only been a couple hours (and we have lot more masti planned :)) but we're already all smiles. :) At this point, the main questions we're holding is -- will Arun Dada wake up at 3:30AM tomorrow? :)
Thank you, all. Such things cannot happen without an ecosystem.
Reflections
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