Bharata Yatra 2004
16 March 2004 — Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi
Amma’s first program in Delhi was in the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, just across the street from Raj Ghat, the samadhi site of Mahatma Gandhi. A number of dignitaries from the nation’s capital graced the dais for Amma’s satsang and bhajans, including Smt. Sheila Dikshit, the Honourable Chief Minister of Delhi, who said, “Every time Amma comes to Delhi, Delhi is blessed.”
Five more ministers were on hand to help Amma distribute Amrita Nidhi pension checks to Delhi’s destitute widows and one handicapped man. The ministers included Shri. Vikram Verma, the Honourable Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports; Swami Chinmayananda, the Honourable Minister of State for Home Affairs; Shri. Chaman Lal Gupta, the Honourable Minister of State for Defense; and Shri. Vijay Goel, the Honourable Minister of State for Youth Affairs & Sports.
Smt. Indu Jain, the Chairman of Times of India Group, also participated in the check distribution. She then delivered a speech, where upon she said, “Today people are coming to India from around the world to receive spiritual knowledge from Amma.”
Shri. Vijay Goel, the Honourable Minister of State for Youth Affairs & Sports, also gave a speech, saying, “Amma meets everyone, big or small, with the same attitude of Mother’s love.”
Two books were released during the function, a souvenir of visit to Delhi and Amritavarsham50, a retrospective of the four days of celebrations surrounding Amma’s 50 th birthday. Participating in the release of the Delhi souvenir were Shri. Chaman Lal Gupta and Shri. Ashok Ganguly, Chairman, CBSE. Participating in the release of the Amritavarsham50 book were Shri. Vikram Verma and Smt. Indu Jain.
Other dignitaries seated on the dais included Dr. Sanjay Paswan, the Honourable Minister of State for Human Resource Development; Shri. I.D. Swami, the Honourable Minister of State for Home; Shri. O. Rajagopal, the Honourable Minister of State for Defense; Dr. A.K. Walia, the Honourable Minister of Finance, PWD and Urban Development; Shri. M.R. Singhal, the Honourable Minister of Industry, Labour, Employment, Land & Building; Shri. Haroon Yusuf, the Honourable Minister of Transport & Power; Professor Jagdish Mukhi, MLA, Leader of the Opposition, Delhi Assembly; Mrs. Tajdar Babar, MLA; Dr. Chidambaram, Principal Scientific Advisor to the Govt. of India; and Capt. Krishnan Nair, Chairman of Leela Penton Group of Hotels.
—Sakshi
