22 July 2025, Amritapuri
The previous night, little Bodham innocently asked Amma as she was walking to her room after darshan, “Amma, will you play Kabadi with us?” Amma smiled and said she would try. True to her word, the next day, which happened to be a holiday, Amma gathered with nearly 100 children at the beach, ready to fulfill her promise.
Before beginning, Amma joyfully showed everyone a video clip from ten years ago when she had played Kabadi during a USA yatra.
Amma arrived at the beach. Laughing and tying her sari around her neck, Amma enthusiastically demonstrated the rules of the game. The children were divided into five groups based on age.
In this Amma version of Kabaddi, Amma and the team leaders each held sticks. The children stood in a line like a train, linked together. Amma’s goal was to touch as many children as possible with her stick, while the team leaders tried to block her attempts with their own sticks. Every time Amma managed to touch someone, they joyfully left their team to join Amma’s side—with beaming smiles and a sense of pride.
Amma played with each group: senior boys and girls, junior boys and girls, and finally the youngest group, led by none other than little Bodham. The beach was alive with laughter, cheers, and joyful noise as the children danced to the latest bhajans, clapping and jumping in unison around Amma.
After nearly 40 minutes of games and dancing, everyone sat around Amma. She gave a short satsang and led a meditation. With hearts full and faces glowing, the children were then lovingly asked to go for lunch. Amma, ever tireless, proceeded to her next seva—recording new bhajans.
It was not just a morning of fun—it was a divine play of love, joy, and connection between a mother and her children – binding an eternal bond with divine.
-Sakshi
