Thursday, August 09, 2007

Bhilai melts in Amma's Love

Bhilai melts in Amma's Love - IAM at Bhilai

IAM sessions were held from 15th July 2007 to 17th July 2007 at Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP), Chattisgarh.

Seven - time winner of the Prime Minister's Trophy for best Integrated Steel Plant in the country, Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP) is India's sole producer of rails and heavy steel plates and a major producer of structural steel. The plant is the only supplier of the country's longest rail tracks (260 metres). Since there were a large number of soldier at BSP, we had to divide the troops into two groups – morning group and evening group. Roughly about 300 Jawans (soldiers) attended the program which spanned across 5 sessions.





The next morning, we started our session at 7 am. The Inspector introduced the IAM team to the Jawans. What was different here from other CISF branches was that the Senior Officers including the Commandant sat with us. Indeed it was quite encouraging for the Jawans to see their officers also participating in IAM with such zeal. Whenever we asked them something, the officers, as well as the Jawans, showed their enthusiasm by showering us with replies.



In the evening, we were supposed to start our session at 4 p.m, but when we reached there, the organizers looked worried. It was a Sunday. Everyone had been expected to be present for the evening session, but many were not there. Some miscommunication was there. The officers assured us that if we waited for about half and hour, everyone would eventually come. As we were waiting, we overheard a soldier saying – "I was on duty last night and could not get time to sleep much". After some waiting, we felt that the current crowd in the hall was getting restless over the delay, so we decided to go in. Then, an officer took the mic, and told the soldiers that they they were really happy that M.A.M is teaching this technique free of cost and that its representatives have traveled a long distance for the benefit of the soldiers.

For the next 20 minutes, time just was not moving at all while we waited. We told them what we had overheard one soldier talking about not getting sleep. Everyone started laughing. We then sang a lullaby for them. Within 3 minutes many of them were sleeping like babies! For 15 minutes they had a nice nap. When they got up, they started looking at each other in awe, surprised that they had actually slept. The waiting time was over. Everyone came in and the evening session resumed.




Next day morning the strength increased. The hall was packed. Some young soldiers who were also excellent sportsmen had joined us. The number of officers on stage also increased. About 5 officers were on stage with us. An officer said, "We are so lucky to have received the shower of Amma's Love through the IAM Technique."

On the final day, the number young soldiers who were also high class sports people, had also increased. Many of them had played at the national level and in the Asian games. One of them had even been the captain of the Indian team.




Before starting the IAM, we had a dancing session for about 5 minutes. Everyone present danced away in joy. After the IAM session, everyone's face looked so serene. Many of them were reluctant to open their eyes and come out of the meditative state. The Inspector said, "No matter how much money we have, or how much we roam about in a market, something like the IAM Technique, which is a token of Love from Amma, cannot be bought. The peace this Technique brings is invaluable."

Later, the Inspector took us on a brief tour of the Bhilai Steel Plant. This plant is one of the richest sources of income for SAIL (Steel Authority of India Limited). We were taken to a cabin which was high above the plant floor. From there we could see big red hot bars of iron that were being rolled over the moving cylinders then straightened by big machines and finally cut into proper shapes. Then these bars were passed onto another section where rails are made for Indian Railways. This plant started the "Long Rail Project" a few years back and we were told that it is the only project of its kind in all of Asia.



Thereafter, we visited the blast furnace. What we saw amazed us – molten red hot metal, gushing out of gigantic machines - like a golden bright stream of sun. This metal then gets separated into high quality and low quality metal streams. One could see this red hot metal flowing like water into a gigantic mug-shaped vessel.

Amit & Mohan



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