Many Musical Offerings of Mannheim

13 - 15 October 2005 -- Mannheim, Germany

Whatever gift a child may offer its mother, she will treasure it with all her heart. The truth of this statement was made evident in Mannheim, where Amma's devotees offered a diverse array of performances at her feet: a traditional tribal dance from Northern Kerala, a Malayalam children's song and a German version of the hip-hop hit "Where Is the Love?"

It was the first night of the Mannheim programmes when a group of girls formed a circle in front of where Amma was giving darshan. They soon began a dance that is often performed at Amritapuri by children from the Ashram's orphanage, a traditional folk dance of the tribals of Northern Kerala{news}. At the conclusion of the night's darshan, Amma showed her delight at her daughters' performance by demonstrating a few similar steps of her own.

On Devi Bhava, some boys from Amritapuri also sang a song often performed for Amma by local children in Amritapuri: "Njangalkkoru Ammayundu Svantam Amma." This is the song that one brahmachari wrote for the tsunami-affected children from Azhikkal{news}. It has become somewhat of an anthem for those children, and they perform it during Amma's darshan each time they come to the ashram. Sung in unison, the song is all about how grateful the children are to have a mother like Amma, and is full of promises to not fight or tell lies, but to be good boys and girls.

Devi Bhava also saw a completely different type of performance, this one from the hip-hop tradition. The song was "Where Is the Love?" - the smash hit by The Black-Eyed Peas. But the song was rendered a little different than it is on the radio. Felix, a young German man who spent two years doing selfless service in Amritapuri, was on the mic, rapping the glories of Amma in German. Throughout the song, Amma continually beamed her smile down upon him. Many of the devotees took to their feet for the duration of the song, clapping and swaying to the beat.

--Kannadi