Nirodbaran

November 2004

In July of this year Krishnaprem, who frequently came to visit us in Tehmi's room, met me in Golconde and said that he had seen Nirodbaran and Nirod said, "Give a long handshake to Narad". This remains with me as strong a blessing today in 2010 as it was six years ago. When I would visit him in his room, Nirod would jokingly say to the others who were gathered around him, 'I am Nirod and this is Narod!'

I came to offer him my birthday wishes on his 101^st birthday on the 18 of November. As everyone in the Ashram knows, his birthday is on the 17^th but as this is the day that Mother left Her body, he celebrates his birthday on the 18^th. We shook hands and is wished him well as he had not been feeling at his best and was in his bed. As I left a stream of visitors entered his room and I felt it would have been better to let him be in peace with those who were close to him.

I remember the night he asked me to read Savitri during his normal weekly reading. What a blessing from the scribe who wrote down thousands of lines as Sri Aurobindo dictated them to him.