I have  just returned from taking Amma, Indu Shedde, who is 96, to Benares. I had no immediate plan to go to Benares, nor had Amma ever asked me to take her there. The trip materialised in a most casual manner. My friends Deepa Soman and Milind S Soman called me from Benares, where they were staying at the Bal Ashram, right on the banks of the river Ganga, which she said was peaceful and lovely. 

Tejbal Pandeyji, who oversees the ashram, very kindly agreed to make all arrangements to make Amma comfortable, including a wheelchair, if we visited. He advised that as Amma is 96, it is not advisable to visit after the first week of April, as it gets too hot. Unfortunately, my sister Sarayu Kamat was not free till April 20, so I decided to go ahead for Amma’s convenience. The moment I decided, everything fell into place in such a sahaj, easy way, it felt like a “bulawa,” a spiritual call.