When my daughters were small I used to often take them with me even to Cabella. There were just under two years between them. I had never had the chance to go up and do puja on stage but that Sahasrara Puja in Cabella (1992) the English were hosting. My desire to help perform puja was very strong. I knew my older two would be ok with an aunty and as the puja went on the youngest fell fast asleep. When they called for married English ladies I made a beeline for the stage.
We had to decorate Shri Mataji’s Feet and put anklets and toe rings on. It was an overwhelming experience. The thing about being physically close to Mother is that you were automatically thoughtless. It was almost like stepping outside of normal space and time. When we were decorating Her Feet, at one point I felt so overawed that I stopped and sat back slightly.
‘Come on, all of you do it,’ She said and I carried on putting kumkum on Her toes. I remember that Her Feet had a carven quality to them, like an ancient statue, and yet at the same time were smooth and young.
Joanne Moore