funding of Amritavarsham

[Guest guest]

> Did you see any article on who is funding the

> celebrations. I know

> Amma herself wanted only a prayer meeting but was

> persuaded to agree

> to this elaborate four day event. I guess the Indian

> government will

> be picking up the tab for its part -- enhanced

> security, free

> railway passes to and from the event and the like.

>

 

I haven't seen anything in newindpress.com, the Times

of India, or the other Indian newspapers about who is

bankrolling the Amritavarsham celebrations, or how

many lakhs of rupees the whole she-bang will cost. Of

course much of the funding would be supplied by

generous contributions from North American and

European devotees, as well as profits on bookstore

sales. There must be some federal and state funding,

but again I don't know how much the Lok Sabha and the

State of Kerala are kicking in. Certainly the Indian

government would be picking up the tab for the "Gupta

Seva" (literally Secret Service, in Sanskrit!) to

protect the President of India and other dignitaries.

No doubt the security will be quite tight, though it's

unlikely any al-Qaeda types will be going for darshan.

 

Keval

(not wanting to re-open that thread on finances, or

that "Amma Inc." screed posted on the SRF board)