On reaching Agra, Emperor Akbar asked, "Tansen, I always thought that you were the best singer on earth, but I saw that you were nowhere near your Guru, why is it so?" Tansen replied, "Your majesty, it is because I sing for you and my Guru sings for the Lord Almighty whose creation you are." Therefore, divinely inspired performance was real music. The idea is that one was so engrossed in it's purity that the performance was esoteric. The performance would be divine. So was the impact of the music that filled the air of Pandit Jasraj Auditorium at Vedic Heritage, Hempstead, New York, during the two day Dipawali festival during the weekend of Saturday, November 11th, 2000. Approximately 700 people were in attendance. They were all but spellbound; listening and clapping as they ‘vah-vahed’ at each of the three classical maestros. Some wiped off their tears in fear that even a little movement of their hand might disturb the effect of this great music. It was beyond soul stirring!

For the past two decades, Vedic Heritage; Inc. in New York has been organizing Indian classical music and dance concerts to promote Indian culture in the United States of America. Classical music connoisseurs come to witness great musicians perform and they walk away with a joy that keeps them humming till the next year. It was on November 11-12, 2000, a few days after Dipawali as a continuation of the festival of lights that these concerts were held.

It was for the first time after being conferred with the title of Padma Vibhushan, (the second highest civil accolade awarded by the Government of India) that the three living legends and great masters of Indian vocal, dance and instrumental music-Pandit Jasraj, Hindustani music, Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia- Bansuri (the bamboo flute) and Pandit Kelucharan Mahapatra - Odissi dance form, performed on one stage. All due to the untiring efforts of Her Holiness Sri Sri Guru Maa Jyotishanand Saraswati [Guru Maa.]

I was in Bombay when I received an invitation to be the master of ceremonies for the Dipawali function in New York. I could not have imagined the grand scale of its organization or the impact that this festival has on music lovers. I have never come across an organization where all the members and trustees regardless of their designations and social standings come together and offer themselves as volunteers for a program. It was therefore a pleasant surprise to be received at JFK Airport by Guru Maa, along with Dr. Bhangdia, Mrs. Rachna Sarang, Mehtaji, and Mukesh Malkan, when I landed there with Pandit Jasraj and his disciple Tripti Mukherji.

I had also never imagined Guru Maa to be such a simple yet practical person that she would drive her own car. My mind had been conditioned with images of Gurus who travel with a lot of fanfare, in their big chauffeur-driven cars! I was touched by her humility and respect for these artists. No wonder all these artists give her the same respect and regard.

Since I reached New York four days before the festival, I had the distinct pleasure of being behind the scenes! The mandir’s telephone never stopped ringing, people from all across the USA kept calling for tickets. The program was totally sold out. I can only wonder at the pains that Guru Maa went through to put the show together at a house-full level. Sanghapriya, Kusum, Annapurna, Renu, Vishnubhai, Falguni, Shilpa, Shyamala, Pandit Amol and Papaji are just a few of the many people who gave so much of their time and energy towards this function. And of course, Tinubhai Patel, Guru Maa's most beloved chela and his brother took charge of the sound system.

I would see Guru Maa in the Sri Hanuman Mandir in the Yagna Mandap, in her office, marketing chanas for food stalls, answering mail, arranging dinky lights for decoration, answering the phones that never ceased ringing, working on the itineraries and lodging arrangements for all the artists, asking for the gardener, working on the chief guest's confirmation and a million other things at the same time!

All the guests were in their respective rooms by now. Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, Mehtaji, Pandit Rakesh Chaurasia, Pandit Bhawani Shankar had all arrived. Pandit Jasraj was a little under the weather, everybody was really concerned since the festival would begin with his recital. There was a delay in the flight for Shri Shubhankar Benerji, the accompanying tabla artist. Shri Sameer Chatterji, the other local tabla player had a prior performance somewhere in New York and could only make it by 10:00 pm. Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia who was scheduled to play the next day arrived from India and went straight to sleep because he was exhausted. The auditorium was already packed beyond capacity!

Renu Jain introduced me to the crowd as the MC for the evening. God, I was so nervous! I went to work. I had to change the sequence of the program to accommodate Pandit Jasraj's delay. He was still feeling ill and everybody wanted their beloved Pandit Jasraj on stage. The tabla players were not to be seen yet either.

One part of the program was to honor Vishnubhai and Falguni Patel and Shri Tinubhai Patel for their undivided attention, service and dedication to the Mandir. I was supposed to talk about each artist prior to the start of their performance, but what to do, I had to talk about them even if they were not physically present.

I stalled and kept the crowd going for about an hour. I requested Pandit Bhawani Shankar Kathak to accompany Pandit Ratan Mohan Sharma, the renowned vocalist and disciple of Pandit Jasraj, on Pakhwaj, to kindly commence the concert. If Pandit Jasraj could hear his disciple, he would have been truly proud. Not to mention Ratan and Bhawani Shankar who also won the hearts of the audience.

What next! A seventh generation violinist from the famous family of Professor T. N. Krishnan and Dr. N. Rajam, the brilliant Miss Kala Ramnath who was to perform on the second day, was also there. She played after Ratan's recital. From the minute she commenced, it was like the violin was singing! The pakhwaj and violin complimented each other so beautifully that this rendering gave the feeling of beauty and rhythm at the same time.

The atmosphere was charged with electrifyingly soulful music. I noticed Her Holiness Maa Jaya Sati Bhagwati of Kashi Ashram, Florida, sitting in the audience totally engrossed in the swaras of Rakesh's flute. Shubhankar Benerji had also arrived. So had the Mayor of Hempstead Village, His Honour James Garner. He seemed to really enjoy himself. And then it was time to watch Guru Kelucharan Mahapatra captivate the audience with his Odissi dance. Arguably considered the greatest living Odissi dance exponent, Guruji has put Indian classical dance on the international map. It was like watching Lord Shiva or Lord Krishna dance! We were supposed to have an intermission which was flatly refused by the crowd! The show must go on!

While Rakesh was playing, I caught a glimpse of Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia in the green room. On finding out that Pandit Jasraj was indisposed, he agreed to perform on the same day instead of the next day. He was tired, but agreed to fill in. His performance was like feeding the spirit of my soul. His flute would create notes that carried power in the air that it moved in. If Lord Krishna was present amongst us that day, would he have played the flute like Pandit Chaurasia? It did not matter if we were by the Atlantic ocean or the River Yamuna. The only thing that mattered was that Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia could take us with his flute to a plane where everything and everyone ceased to exist and the only reality was Lord Krishna and the Swaras of His flute.

In the mean time, despite being ill, Pandit Jasraj worked his way to the stage. His performance was canceled but he was determined not to let Guru Maa and the audience down, And he sang, touching everybody's soul. He lifted the spirits of one and all present in the auditorium that day. I have never learned music, I can neither sing, dance nor play any instruments. But just like any other creature, I can feel music. It is like a stream of notes that makes me forget everything around me, and makes me feel one with the universe.

On the second day of the festival, the evening started with a performance by Pandit Ratan Mohan Sharma, followed by a solo Pakhwaj recital by Bhawani Shankar Kathak. This was followed by a Jugalbandi between Pandit Jasraj on vocal and Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia on the flute. Pandit Jasraj had recovered and had great plans to make up for the previous day! The Jugalbandi left everybody mesmerized.

And then, we had the finale, the Odissi recital by Guru Kelucharan Mahapatra and his able son Ratikant. Guruji has given the world Odissi dancers like Sonal Mansingh, Madhavi Mudgal, Samyukta Panigrahi, and many others. His rendering of the Ashtapadi of Jaidev’s Geet Govind, and Ratikant's Hanuman Parsang will be remembered for years to come. But Guruji himself as Kewat Parsang, of the Ramacharitra Manas, shook everyone sitting in the auditorium that day. Can anyone else’s dance be this ethereal? Could anything else touch one’s soul so deeply?

It reminds me of a story by a Sufi saint Jalaluddin Rumi: A lover goes to his beloved and knocks at her door. From inside the house, a female asks, “Who is it?" The lover replies, "Please open the door my love, it is I." The lady of the house does not open the door. She replies to the man, "You have not understood the meaning of love, there is no place in love for two people and you say that you are my beloved; come back when you have understood the meaning of love.” The lover goes back. He travels every length and breadth of the country, many seasons come and go, many moonlit nights go by, many mountains are crossed; and one fine day he comes back. He knocks once more on the same door and says, “Please open the door, now it is not I, it is you and only you." The door immediately opens. It was the unity of the Atma and the Parmatma, soul and lord that she wanted her lover to understand. Similarly, the music that we witnessed was not from the artisits to the Gods, it was the Gods themselves. So was the impact of the program, legends from India: Pandit Jasraj, pandit Kelucharan Mahapatra, Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia, and a few of the maestros of tomorrow, all enthralled us with their music and their love for their culture. I was touched by the humility of Srimati Shashi Tripathi, India's Consul General in New York. She herself is a well-read person and was the Guest of Honor for the day.

All this happened because of the untiring efforts and commitment of Her Holiness Sri Sri Guru Maa Jyotishanand Saraswati and the selfless bhakti of Her beloved team of dedicated disciples. Thank you Guru Maa!

Jai Shri Hanuman!