Magic Wand

Amavassai is a Tamil word for new moon or black moon .

Usually somebody is named that as a pun the person being dark skinned .

Iam going to tell about an Ammavasai this story incidentally is a true one .

Our Ammavasai was a seven year old beggar who was also a rag picker ,an orphan he drifted into Kannur and once while picking a rubbish bin found a steel vessel .

Like any other child would he broke it open with a stone but it blasted on him taking an eye and maiming his hands for it was a country bomb .

The next days newspapers were full of an orphan Ammavasai lying in the local government hospital .

Iam now going to tell you about Saigramam a centre near Attingal 30 km off Trivandrum city the capital of Kerala .

I went there yesterday as my work in Trivandrum ended earlier than expected and my friend wanted to go there .

Saigramam is situated in natural surroundings full of rubber trees hillocks and ponds ,it has lovely cottages with white ducks walking around ,there was a beutifulk white horse too donated by someone .

Saigramam had been functioning for years quitely doing it charitable work guided by the principles of Sri Sathya Sai Baba .

It ran a Gurukulam model school for tots upto fourth standard who continued thier education later in a local school ,this was for the children nearby and also for the orphans stayting in the ashram .

It had some mentally challenged children ,some abandoned elders ,and orphans too staying there and looked after with great love and affection

We had thier simple fare with them in the dining cottage ,anyone who came there could partake food from there .

So coming back to our story when the gramam authorities heard of the abandoned and injured Amavasai they brought him here and he too became on of its inmates .

They changed his name to Poornachandran which means full moon as they gave more meaning to his life

over the years Poornachandran imibed the best of education and lifestyle values included in the Sai curriculum .

He was talented in singing and once when Dasettan the singing icon of Kerala and other celebrities visited the Gramam and heard him singing they advised the authorities that he should be taught music formally as he had an inborn talent for it .

so Poornachandran learnt music and now is in his second degree course music in Swathi Thirunal music college in Trivandrum .

Thus This is the story of hown An Ammavasi turned into a Poornachandran just by the swish of a magic wand of Sai .