It all started with Sriram’s announcement about Ganesh Kumar receiving an invitation to sing in Pandharpur Vithal temple. We were extremely happy hearing the news. I was all for accompanying the troupe. Though I had heard bhajans - I had never attended a namasankirtanam. Unfortunately I was scheduled to go abroad on an official visit that week and was deeply upset at not being able to make it for this great occasion. God was very much on my side and my trip abroad got cancelled. Added to the pleasure was a phone call from my dad at Chennai announcing that he will also be with us for this trip. The trip to Pandarpur happened to be one of the best and the most memorable experiences in my life.

Seventy of us were travelling together. The platform seemed to be filled with familiar faces with all smiling at each other. We reached Kurudwadi at about 6 am next morning and took a bus to Pandharpur. The air was cool and refreshing and thoughts of Mumbai was left far behind. As the bus neared Pandharpur the sight of the Chandrabhaga river filled my heart with supreme bliss. She was coming down dancing and swirling with her clear waters washed away all worries. Just a dip in the holy river made me absolutely refreshed. It felt as though it was not just the physical self but also the mind which had been cleansed of all its trivial pursuits. The touch of her made me lose all the care and self-consciousness of being the only girl to be bathing in the river and there I spent almost an hour floating in her and moving with her in complete harmony.

We went for a morning darshan of Panduranga and Rakumai. The Lord dressed in chandan was smiling away at all his devotees. Standing there in front of Him one gets a feeling of complete peace and harmony within oneself Then we had a very inspiring talk by Pt. Gauri Shankar on vedas. He expounded about how the present day mankind was going after materialistic pleasures and how it must rise to seek the higher in which lay the everlasting happiness. Mr. Srinivasan and party followed it by a lively bhajan session. It pepped up one and all who joined them in chorus.

We had a video session of Swami Haridas Giri on Radha Kalyanam in the evening. Guruji as He is fondly called was one of the greatest saints of our generation who through namasankirtan took people to heights of devotion. Inspite of not having clear visibility of the video – the audience sat absolutely spellbound listening to Him.

Then came the event for which we had all assembled - the Vitthal Namsankirtan by Ganesh Kumar & party in the Vithal Temple premises. It was absolutely soul stirring and touched the heart of every devotee assembled. Ganesh Kumar was so emotionally absorbed within himself that he never saw the audience before him but Lord Pandhuranga Himself. Three full hours passed like three minutes and it was time that separated the spell bound audience from Ganesh Kumar. The enthralling performance justified the honour and title "Maharastra Abhang Ratnam" conferred on him earlier at ‘Marudanallur Sadguru Sabha’ which was physically handed over in the presence of the Lord on the same day.

It was then when I really came to know the difference between a bhajan and namasankirtanam. When we say bhajan we have a person singing and all of us are listening. Namasankirtanam is where we all join and each one participates and elevates himself.

We went for the Kakada Aarti at 4 am in the morning. Despite having slept only by 1 0’clock the previous night, I was amazed seeing the number of elderly ladies waking up at 3 am and going for the aarti. I myself was tempted to sleep a bit more but it was they who really inspired me.

The Kakada Aarti is something which one should never miss in Pandharpur.No words can describe the thrilling experience of sitting before the Lord for 2 hours during the Kakada aarti as the priests performed early morning abhishekam, alankaram and poojas. In no other hour of the day can one get such a good darshan as this.

The group had the pleasure of attending the thread ceremony of the son of the chief priest of the Panduranga Temple in the morning.

Afternoons were filled with friendly chats with all the elderly ladies of the troupe. Their enthusiasm and devotion could be second to none. I recollect Ganesh Kumar expounding on the meaning of the word ‘satsang’. Satsang not only included attending bhajans and talks but also being in the company of enlightened people. The ladies really taught me nothing is more important than the Lord. They would probably leave all other activity to be with Him. To meet such people in todays dog eat dog world itself is His divine grace.

The bhajan session in the afternoon by Sriram and Shivkumar was fantastic despite the fact that there was no electricity for operating the mikes.

As a grand finale to this fine trip we had Jayakrishna Dikshidar who blessed all of us and then spoke about the greatness of Pandharpur.

We took the bus to Kurudwadi that evening and had an enjoyable bhajan session in the bus . One and all including the bus driver enjoyed the bus bhajan session.

About our hosts Ganesh Kumar and Latika words fail me. Their level of humility and devotion cannot be adequately described. To undertake a task of taking 70 of us most of who were very elderly was indeed a selfless service. Not only did they undertake this huge responsibility with a smile but also gave up their seats in the train for the last minute entrants and travelled the whole night sitting after such a hectic trip.

Just thinking back I wonder what I would have really missed if I were unable to make it for this trip. One thing about this Lord Panduranga which I very well understood during this trip is that if anyone shows sincerity to meet the Lord, the next moment onwards the Lord takes full responsibility on his shoulders and clears all obstacles to reach Pandharpur. Here is a Lord who really finds an abode in the hearts of devotees and I could experience such a feeling totally fogetting all wordly activities. If such is the experience of an ordinary person like me. I could imagine and visualise the experiences of the great Tukaram, Gnaneshwar and other great saints. Truly this trip will be one of my most memorable trips in the times to come and I look forward to such further trips.