I

Two months ago, my daughters who have been living in the Ashram at Pondicherry from their early childhood, went out for the first time after about fifteen years to visit some places of pilgrimage in North India and Kashmir. First they came to Delhi and took the opportunity to visit the Rashtrapati Bhavan, its Museum and Art Gallery, where the portraits of the eminent leaders of India are to be seen.

In this visit they had the opportunity of meeting the Rashtrapati, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, and were introduced to him as members of Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry. He heartily welcomed them. Suddenly at that moment, to the surprise of all of us, one of my daughters, Tara, told the President that she would like to ask him something if he did not mind. He very kindly gave her permission to do so. Then she asked, “Why, among all the portraits of the great men of India here in the Art Gallery, that of Sri Aurobindo is missing?”

The President felt pleased with this question and after a pause, affectionately replied, “My child, only the portraits of the political leaders are displayed here, and as Sri Aurobindo was considered to be a Maharishi no one thought of placing his portrait here.” With due apologies, the girl persisted that Sri Aurobindo had been a great political leader as well, and had played an important part in the political field of our country. Moreover, was there not a portrait of Rabindranath Tagore who had not been a political leader?

The President now fully appreciated her point and turning to his A.D.C. asked him to get immediately a portrait of Sri Aurobindo for the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The next day I received a phone call from the Rashtrapati Bhavan enquiring if the Sri Aurobindo Ashram could provide a suitable portrait of the Master. I replied that I would write to the Mother; and in due course I informed the Rashtrapati Bhavan that the Mother had graciously agreed to have a portrait of Sri Aurobindo painted.

The Mother entrusted the painting of this portrait to an eminent artist of the Abanindra School of Oriental Arts, Calcutta, Shri Promode Kumar Chatterjee, residing in the Ashram. It was expected that he would take at least six months to paint this portrait. But with the Mother’s Grace it was completed in a much shorter time.

Here it will be interesting and significant to note a side of the story, which I came to know later. At first Shri Promode Kumar found it a very difficult job, because the material he had was only four small photos of Sri Aurobindo of the days of the political movement of 1907-1908. The photos had, moreover, faded and become indistinct. To make a representative portrait of Sri Aurobindo out of such material was a problem. Yet it was the Mother’s wish that this portrait should be done and it was She who had given him those old photos. So he invoked the Master for days and weeks, and as a response to his prayers the portrait emerged. The artist in all sincerity told his friends that he did not know how he did it. He felt that he was only the instrument in the hands of the One to be painted. So in less than one month the work was accomplished.

II

The second phase of this divine drama, as I now call it, began when I received a letter from Pondicherry saying that the Mother wished the portrait to be presented to the Rashtrapati Bhavan on the 15th August, Sri Aurobindo’s birthday, by the Delhi Branch of the Ashram, to whom it would be sent shortly. She wanted to know the programme of the presentation ceremony.

This puzzled me. What ceremony, and why? It is the Government who had the portrait made. How could I ask for a presentation ceremony? Yet such was the Mother’s wish. So I set about arranging a suitable programme. I also asked for an urgent interview with the President, which was granted.

When I met Dr. Rajendra Prasad I made a request for this auspicious ceremony in the Rashtrapati Bhavan for presenting the portrait on the 15th of August. With an open heart I tried to convey to him how the Mother felt on anything concerning Sri Aurobindo. She had often told us that She had descended upon earth solely to carry out Sri Aurobindo’s mission and work. To Her the portrait of Sri Aurobindo was a living symbol. The President was obviously moved, but regretted that he would be away from Delhi on the 15th August, and that Dr. Radhakrishnan would be the master of the House, whom he advised me to meet and request officially for a ceremony. I however, respectfully asked the President if he would kindly convey my sentiments to the Vice-President, to which he agreed and added that Dr. Radhakrishnan was going to call on him the next day.

Two days later I received news from the Rashtrapati Bhavan that the President had spoken to Dr. Radhakrishnan and that we could get in touch with him and with the Deputy Military Secretary to the President, who would make the necessary arrangements for the ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Accordingly, I met the Vice-President with the proposed programme, and he told me that the Rashtrapati had already spoken to him and he had consulted the Prime Minister about it, but there could be no installation ceremony. He would accept the portrait on behalf of the Government. However, when he saw our programme for the ceremony, he very kindly agreed to it. Then when I made the suggestion to arrange the time for 12 noon for receiving the portrait, he readily assented and said with enthusiasm that 12 midday and 12 midnight are the most auspicious hours which can always be fixed even without reference to them, and in support of this he quoted certain slokas and further said that he would come to the function at 11.35 a.m. and would join in the programme to accept the portrait at 12 noon. He also told me that the portrait would be kept in the Rashtrapati Bhavan and when the President returned he would select the final place for it in consultation with the Prime Minister.

I conveyed all these matters to the gracious Mother. Then for some days I hesitated and felt perplexed, but I did not receive any further instructions from Pondicherry, which I had been expecting so much. When only a few days were left I thought that I must now proceed to fulfil the Mother’s wishes.

So I phoned the Deputy Military Secretary, Lieutenant Colonel M. Guffran, who immediately said that he had already received instructions and would be glad to make all the arrangements we needed, and that we should go to the Rashtrapati Bhavan to see and finalise the proposed arrangements. So we contacted the Rashtrapati Bhavan and a bright room facing the Moghul Gardens was agreed upon. At our request the furniture was removed and new carpets were spread, as we wanted to have sitting arrangements for the function. We again visited the Rashtrapati Bhavan the next day and at our request the Deputy Military Secretary agreed to have suitable decorations made.

Mr. S.D. Dhir went to Pondicherry and brought the portrait by air. While handing it over to him the Mother instructed him specially that it should be carried carefully and should always be held by the hands and not be put down anywhere. The portrait was sent from the Ashram to the Madras Airport in a special car, and again Mr. Dhir was instructed by the Mother to hold it carefully and as far as possible not to allow it to be subjected to jolts. At the Palam Airport the portrait was received on the 12th evening, and brought to the Ashram at Delhi and placed in the Meditation Hall for darshan.

On the 13th afternoon, suddenly the Deputy Military Secretary phoned me that he had come to know that the Prime Minister would also attend the function, and that he was wondering why we had not informed him. I replied with as much pleasure as with surprise that it was the first intimation I had of this. He then advised me to get in touch with the Prime Minister’s Secretary and obtain confirmation. I went immediately to the Vice-President’s residence and was informed that Dr. Radhakrishnan himself had invited the Prime Minister. With great joy I realised that this was the Mother’s Grace. I phoned the Prime Minister’s Private Secretary and told him to convey to the Prime Minister that we felt it a great privilege to welcome him on this auspicious occasion.