Amma Inspires Nagapattinam
14 February 2005
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Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu
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Amma visited several tsunami-hit areas in
Nagapattinam on the 13th and 14th. There were no
formal programmes. Nothing had been arranged
by the Ashram, but by the time Amma arrived in
the village of Nagore, there were many posters and banners welcoming
her. When Amma arrived the place where she was to stay at 5:30 a.m., she was greeted by a throng
of locals chanting "Om Amriteswaryai Namah."
The enthusiasm and love they exuded had to be seen
to be believed. Said Krishnaveni, one of those
affected by the tsunami, "Amma has fed us.
She gave us shelter and clothes. We want to see
those hands that gave us life once again."
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"It was so spontaneous. We arranged nothing,
we made no formal announcements, but there was a spontaneous
response from the locals. When they got to know that
Amma would be coming, they had posters printed; word
spread by word of mouth too. And today as I was coming
from the camps that Amma intends to visit I saw almost
all of the women cleaning the place, drawing kolams [decorative designs drawn as symbols of well-being and prosperity].
It was so beautiful," said Abhayamrita Chaitanya, the brahmachari
in charge of the relief operations in
the district.
At all the places Amma visited, the men and women greeted her as if she were a close friend they had not seen in far too long.
Amma talked to all of the people, telling them that
she had not come there to hold a programme and give
a satsang, but to share in their sorrow, to allay their
fears. Many told Amma that they were afraid of going out
to sea again. Many had lost their boats and fishing nets—not to even mention members of their families. Amma consoled
them and gave them courage. "Mother
Sea has always protected and sustained you," She said. "She
would never harm Her children. It was because of an
earthquake in the sea that the waves rose. You
shouldn't be afraid to venture out again."
As for the material losses, Amma said that
the Ashram will do whatever it can to restore
their lives to normal. During the programmes, Amma
also distributed rice, clothes and other provisions.
She also visited individual homes in the temporary
shelters in Samanthampettai—loving, caressing,
comforting—giving them hope, like the sun spreading
light after a long dark night.
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Amma made arrangements for those who needed
special medical attention to be taken to hospitals and reiterated that the Ashram will adopt
children who had lost both their parents if their relatives
agree. The Ashram is also providing jobs and adopting two villages, as well as constructing more homes in a third in collaboration with the TATA Relief Committee.
At a couple of the programme sites, Amma led
the gathering in bhajans.
Amma visited camps in Pattinacheri, Samanthampettai,
Nambiyar Nagar, Akkarapettai, Karaikalmedu and T.R.
Pattinam. |
—Kannadi
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