On April 21st 2007, Sydney (Australia) was blessed by the Divine Sage Sri Sankara, Gurudev, Guruji and Swami Swaroopananda. The children of Balavihar and Yuva Kendra, Chinmaya Mission Sydney celebrated Sri Sankara Jayanthi by organising a skit on Sri Sankaracharya’s life.

The drama was led by Brni Sujataji, our Brahmacharini at the Sydney Chinmaya Mission Ashram, Australia. It was scripted, choreographed and directed by Brni Sujataji. The uniqueness of it was that the characters conversed in Sanskrit. It was a very pleasant surprise to all parents and Chinmaya Mission family members to see and hear kids living away from India converse in Sanskrit.

The production started with a conversation between a mother and daughter. The mother explaining to her daughter, Sri Sankaracharya’s life, how his parents were blessed by Lord Shiva with a child who was to live a short life, but a life full of intelligence and divine blessings. The production went on to explain the childhood of Sankara, followed by his youth and then his divine gestures and his final days before attaining final realization. Important incidents in Sri Sankara’s life highlighting his power and love for devotees, like the incident leading to the Kanakadhara storam, His teachings to the ignorant people, etc. were all depicted in a simple and accurate manner.

The finale was very fitting with Sri Sankara and all disciples sitting and depicting the four main important messages and mutts created by Sri Sankara. There was a beautiful recital of Totakashtakam by Abhinav Rajkumar and a Bhajan by Mrs Viyabala Iyer in praise of Lord Shiva and Sri Sankara.

Children and parents were exposed to simple but yet powerful costumes and props on stage that depicted the era and culture in which Sri Sankaracharya lived. The production was crisp and focused on the meaning and purpose of Sri Sankara’s life and teachings.

The drama ended with all children getting blessings from their teacher Brni Sujatajii who blessed them not only with an opportunity to learn about the divine sage but also taught them Sanskrit sentences and meanings to them.

Brni Sujataji ended the production with a vote of thanks to all parents and children who had contributed their time to attend the practices and also to all the audience who had assembled at the ashram to encourage children in their performance in Sanskrit.

She also thanked all the parents, children and volunteers for making this function a great success.

Some photos from this special event can be found by clicking here.