A stout, tall man adorned with sandalwood paste jumped up and down .The drum beats became still, as if heavy with anticipation, His hands were on his waist, like the posture of Panduranga, Lord Vittala.The chanting of “Panduranga” constantly, by devotees reverberated in the air. As the chanting rose to a crescendo, the deep silence between the chants even seemed to muffle one’s heartbeats. 

His Holiness Sri Jayendra Saraswati Swamigal of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam sat on a chair nearby, ecstatically smiling at the devotee jumping. It was at the Veda Vidyarthi Sammelan held at the Kanchi Kamakoti Muttam, at Malleshwaram in Bangalore on 2nd, 3rd and 4rth July.

 750 Veda students from all over Karnataka State were invited to Bangalore. Many of those who witnessed the function felt it was an opportunity of a lifetime. Each day began with the Vedic chants, each school presenting their Veda Shakha. The evenings were solely spent in exposing these students to the divine name in the form of Sampradaya bhajans or traditional devotional music with the accompaniment of instruments. Retired army officers, housewives, little toddlers sat watching the bhajans clapping ecstatically or sitting in a meditative trance.

One evening, a one-and-half year old toddler suddenly started dancing. The videographer tried to push him aside; when His Holiness gently remonstrated  and asked the videographer to step aside, as the boy continued dancing. The crowd was mesmerised, His Holiness blissful and the little fellow danced with carefree abandon. When three songs were over, the boy’s grandfather went with the boy to His Holiness for blessings. The boy had a heart problem, explained the grandfather.

The bhajans went on. Young Vedic students clapped delightedly at the tempo and rhythm. His Holiness handed over sugar candy prasadam to the boy, after being absorbed in silence for a while. The boy gave it to his grandfather and made him hand over bit by bit.. His Holiness waited and watched till the boy ate all his prasadam, and only then did HH get up to go upstairs. As people thronged after HH, the boy, dressed in a purple colored, silk dhoti joyfully strode away with his grandfather.