The Summer Magic workshop by YES+ and Art of Living attracted young people from across the globe
From the crack of dawn on 21 June, the Art of Living ashram saw scores of young boys and girls from across the globe pouring in to experience Summer Magic. With the blessings of His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji, this nine day event (21 to 29 June), designed by the directors of WAYE (World Alliance for Youth Empowerment), Khurshed Batliwala and Dinesh Ghodke, saw 2,500 YES!+ (Youth Empowerment and Skills workshop) graduates coming together, sharing experiences, meditating, and building a concrete plan for a better society and a better nation.
For most, this was their first visit to the ashram. They took an entire day to explore the home and take care of other participants, which they did brilliantly. As Guruji walked into the first satsang, ear-shattering screams and claps resounded through the ashram. He began with, “This is how the face of the nation should be! Full of life and love!”
And so followed the Summer Magic Upgrade — a four hour game, which was played by teams of 25 people each. The theme was that of a world tour. The entire ashram was converted into a world map and teams had to visit different countries and perform different tasks, and collect flags of the countries. When thousands of young people are playing, drawing 'kollam' in India, catching centipedes in China, reciting Shakespeare in UK or making pizzas in Italy, it is but natural that chaos would follow. But the ashram team put up a great show.
The evenings were lit up by a fantastic musical titled Anand and Benaifer, a love story between a Tamil Iyer boy and a Parsi girl, with the whole ensemble of pirates, dakus, friends and family brought into play. It very subtly brought out the problems of the youth. We also had fantastic workshops and talks by Dr Hari, founder of Bharat Gyan on enigmatic India and by Captain Raghu Raman and CEO, NATGRID, on leadership at 26,000 feet at Siachen. Dr Giri taught us some of the moves from the ancient martial art, Karatandav, while Mr Rajesh Krishnamurthy, CEO, Sumeru Solutions spoke on 'It's a small world' based on the six degrees of separation theory, which also implies that when you are happy, your friend's friend also becomes happy. Mr Amol Yewele, a Yuvacharya spoke on the revolutionary Kapshi project in Maharashtra, which is now a model village with chemical free farming, smokeless chulhas, no alcohol or tobacco. Shantanu Prakash, CEO, EDUCOMP talked about social entrepreneurship. These workshops gave participants a bird's eye view on many industries and a lot of food for thought on how they can develop themselves and those around them.
After three days of activity, a lot of talk and even more thinking, it was now time to dive into silence, dive into yourself. The Advance Meditation course was a great experience for all, as they spent time away from phones, computers, gossip and noise. On the last day each one sat with their respective city groups and planned for the next event to spread this same bliss to thousand others. These nine days, filled with dance, music, silence and seva, were truly magical.
THE WINNER
At the Yes+ event in Bangalore, we ran a 'Flash yourself in Yuva' contest. Meet Gurgaon-based college student, Kunal Gambhir, the winner of the contest.
I am Sagittarius, the most philosophical of signs, but I don't believe in sun signs. I am an avid racer and my bike means everything to me. I love doing stunts on my bike. I am in love with dance. I am part of the best dance group, called Heights, in my University. We have won several intercollegiate competitions.
I am also the captain of my college’s volleyball team. In my free time, I read, play the mouth organ and act.
I did my first Yes+ course a year ago. The seven days were the most memorable for me. Two years ago I had met with an accident, which left me devastated. I was bedridden for seven to eight months. I stopped dancing, I stopped racing, no more volleyball. Life was falling apart. I was very irritable and snapped at everyone. Even my studies had taken a beating.
One day, my brother introduced me to the YES+ course and I decided to give it a shot. It transformed my life. I started dancing, acting, playing volleyball, my relationship with my peers and parents improved and I was back in paradise.
