UK News

A fine fund-raising time at
the Dinner Dance evening

17 June 2006

The Dinner Dance evening in Wimbledon on the 17th June was a great success. Apart from the great fun had by all (see the report from Aparna below) the Auction of Promises raised £3067, with £1,001 being paid for an oil painting of Amma by Vinita, out of a total raised for the evening of £4,100.

There were 101 participants, who all offered their service in many ways, such as cooking, sponsoring food items, set up, serving and clearing up, ticket sales, buying things, setting up the altar, calligraphy, transporting items, fetching people, providing accommodation to those from out of town, design of the ticket and menu, singers, dancers, tabla players, sound system management - it was like a mini-visit!

Special mention to Charles (who came over from Ireland for the evening) and Vinita for the specially commissioned paintings of Amma for the auction (and a mention for Itzu who came over from Germany ).

"When I was told there was a 'dinner dance' in Wimbledon to help raise money for Amma's charities, I was reminded of old school days where the highlight of the year was joining forces with the boy's school up the road for a mediocre dinner followed by very amateur foxtrot, or similar.

So I was intrigued to find out how an Amma dinner dance would turn out. But nothing could have prepared me for the energy, devotion and fun that everybody had that evening.

It was apparent that a huge amount of time and effort had been put into the setup - the hall was decorated; an altar of Amma at the front, beautifully garlanded and the mantra 'Om Lokah Samasta Sukhino Bhavantu ' laid out. Each of us lit a candle and placed it on the mantra while chanting collectively, with a prayer that the light within be made stronger by the Guru's grace.

There then followed a series of wonderful performances - fusion tabla , traditional Indian dance, and devotional singing. Meanwhile, delicious Indian dishes were served for us - such a variety, from dhal to cabbage and coconut curry, a soya and mushroom dish and more, it really was a treat.

Following the main dinner we had an interlude - a cabaret singer from Vegas treated us to a broad rendition of popular songs, including a group sing-a-long to 'Under the Boardwalk', and transformed a community village hall into a concert hall, with light effects and artificial smoke to round it off!

Next was the auction. Now, I've never taken part in an auction before, and let me tell you - it is great fun! Especially when you particularly want one of the 'lots' - a beautiful pair of satin white slippers worn by Amma during an evening programme in London. No, I didn't get them, but knowing that all proceeds are donated to Amma's works meant it simply didn't matter. Also for auction was a watercolour of Amma painted especially for the occasion, a stunning and large oil painting of Amma, and a number of smaller items either used by Her , or kept in Her room.

There was one final performance to accompany dessert; a touching solo of the classic song 'Have I told you lately that I love you', dedicated to Amma. As I stepped outside to bid my farewells to friends, there was a disco-like quality, with the lights going round and the 'smoke' machine working again - favourite bhajans with Swamiji's voice melting the speakers with his voice, followed by Abba's 'Dancing Queen'. The final bhajan played, 'Amma Taye ' nearly brought the roof down as people went round and round the room, as at the end of Devi Bhava , with Amma smiling down on all Her children and showering Her grace."

-- Aparna