A little wish to start a Balvihar centre in the suburb of Wantirna South was put forward to Gautamji. The consent was given and it was decided to start the classes in two weeks time. Advertisement of the new BV centre began by all modes while the other preparatory work was going in the background. Our sincere thanks to Sai Aparnaji who kindly accepted to guide and help us in the teething weeks and also provided us with a CD version of the teacher's starter kit.

We were both excited and nervous but by the grace of the Lord, the first Balvihar class started on Wednesday, the 29th of August 2007.

Nine children attended the first class to our great delight. The class began with the usual Balvihar prayers, japa and bhajans. The children were told the beautiful story of Krishna Butter Bash during which they interacted eagerly to ask and answer questions. They participated with great enthusiasm to learn the Ganesha shloka 'Vakrathunda' which was taught with beautiful actions invented by Sai Aparnaji. The children learnt the shloka and actions with great interest and were able to reproduce them quite easily. The children were then given a picture of little Krishna stealing butter to match the theme of the story, which they enjoyed colouring. The class ended with the traditional Arathi, pledge and prasad.

We would like to thank the Lord for this wonderful opportunity to serve Him. Also we are grateful to Gautamji, Raniji and Sai Aparnaji for their help and support. Last but not the least we also thank the dedicated parents and the lovely children without who this venture would not be possible.

Children's classes in Wantirna South are held every Wednesday from 7.00pm - 8.30pm. Those interested in finding out more about this new centre can contact:

1. Chinmaya Dham (03) 9846 8359 or
2. Shantha on (03) 9801 3513, 0422-002-517, balvihar.ws@gmail.com