19 September

At eight-thirty a.m. I presented Amrita-da with my poem translated into English by Nolini-da. He was extremely moved. He was speechless and did not want to descend to his usual humorous consciousness. In a high, contemplative mood, he said: "In silence I am telling you what I want to say about this poem."

After a few moments he said: "Chinmoy, today I will give you the best sweets, made by the best sweet-maker. Do you know who she is?"

"How can I know? Please tell me."

"She is our Shibarani, the Ashram's Shibarani, the Mother's Shibarani."

Later, I entered Nolini-da's room to work. He said to me: "Today we must observe Amrita's birthday. Here is a huge cake. Go and give it to him. We shall invite his dear ones to his room."

Then I showed Nolini-da the group picture taken on my birthday. He was very pleased. He said to me: "I need three copies: one for the Mother and two for myself."

Robi-da also wrote a poem in Bengali about Amrita-da and asked his father to translate it into English. Nolini-da's translation of Robi-da's poem was also extremely beautiful.