Ravi Shankar's unforgettable performance

One year, I believe it was 1948, Ravi Shankar came to play at the Ashram. He played at Dilip-da's house. There were one hundred and fifty or two hundred people present in three rooms, on the porch and everywhere.

I was so fortunate to sit near Ravi Shankar during his performance. I was facing Ravi Shankar. I was a young boy of sixteen or seventeen. In those days, I did not have any problem to sit down cross-legged, in the half-lotus position. I was watching Ravi Shankar playing and I was so moved. How he played! The distance between us was perhaps two metres.

Now, can you imagine, Ravi Shankar and I have become dearer than the dearest! He is eleven years older than me and now he has adopted me as his youngest brother. Our connection all began because of Dilip-da. Whoever thought that history would play a most significant role in our lives! This was God's inscrutable Plan.

A few years ago, Ravi Shankar was telling me about Dilip Roy. They were very good friends. He told me that he stayed at Dilip-da's house for two days when he came to the Ashram. Ravi Shankar said about Dilip-da, "Such a great man, such a great man. But the Sri Aurobindo Ashram did not give him due honour."

Then Ravi Shankar was asking me about Sahana-di and Nishikanto. All the names of the great Ashramites he knows and he was asking me if I had known them. I was able to tell him that each of them was extremely, extremely kind to me.