The Mother's Embroidery Department

Working in the Embroidery Department

Bela, one of the young girls sent by the Mother to work with Vasudha shares with us her treasured memories:

Sri Aurobindo Ashram of 2005 is so different from what it was in 1940 when I first stepped in here as a girl of 13. Our Ashram has passed through innumerable stages and phases since it was established in 1926.

My first Darshan of the Mother took place in the Ashram courtyard when she came out onto Dyuman-bhai's terrace. I stood with Nolini-da on one side and my father, Girindra Ghosh, on the other. I gazed at her with wonder! The Mother looked directly at me for a few seconds then smiled and nodded. I was overjoyed to have been noticed and acknowledged. Later, Nolini-da explained to me that by her nod, Mother had indicated her permission for me to join in the evening meditation. But a greater joy awaited me the following evening when we went to meet the Mother in her room. It is difficult for me to describe the extraordinary feeling that overtook me when I went up to her and knelt down for her blessing. It was an unforgettable experience. Then came 15th August, — another memorable day in my life. It was my first Darshan of Sri Aurobindo. Sri Aurobindo and the Mother were seated on a sofa and one by one we went to offer our pranam to them. I still remember almost every detail of that glorious day. When it was my turn for pranam I came and stood before them. Sri Aurobindo looked at me for a long time. I remained still and then I turned my gaze to Mother. She was smiling sweetly at me. This Darshan was a heavenly experience for me.

During the 25 days of my stay as a visitor in the Ashram I would spend the mornings helping Mridu-di who prepared food for Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. After my lunch in the Ashram Dining Room, I would lend a helping hand in the wiping section for a while. Once I was back in my room, I would take up my embroidery work on a silk tablecloth which I wished to offer to the Mother before leaving Pondicherry.

On the last day of my visit, I went to the Mother to present the tablecloth and to seek her blessings. Before Mother could say anything, I pleaded with her: "I like you so much, I want to stay here with you. Please keep me with you."

The Mother, with a beautiful smile on her face replied, "Certainly you can stay; but next time." Then she put her hand a few inches above my head and continued, "You must grow big. Now it will be difficult for you to stay without a guardian."

Exactly three years later, on 8th of August I was back in Pondicherry, this time for good. I was simply amazed to find that the Mother had my room ready for me! A few days later, my work in the Ashram was also decided. In those days the Mother selected the work for each one. Nolini-da called me and said that I was to go to Swarna-di's house and work there with Minu. Swarna-di used to cut and stitch dress materials and prepare gowns, coats, and other things for the Mother.

I used to watch Swarna-di take a new cloth material and cut it exactly according to a dress model made of big brown paper. I presume that these paper dress models came from the Mother's room through Datta.

The Mother always wore hand-stitched clothes. Since my childhood, I enjoyed doing embroidery. So, I was very happy to begin my work here. Minu and I helped Swarna-di in stitching and we also did a little embroidery work, usually on the border of Mother's gowns.

My working hours were 7.30 a.m. to 11.30 a.m. and after lunch, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. everyday. Around 8 o'clock in the morning we would all leave our work to go for pranam in the Ashram. It was wonderful in those days — we had the golden opportunity of seeing the Mother several times a day. Every afternoon at 3.30 p.m. Swarna-di would give Minu and me fruits that had been sent for us by the Mother. After this, instead of continuing with our needlework we would turn our attention to washing the Mother's garments.

The Mother wanted us to learn more about embroidery, so from 1946 onwards I started going to Vasudha-ben's house with Minu and Jaya. Vasudha-ben was popularly known as Akka. Once the Mother sent word to us that she would be coming to our department and see how we were doing our work. We were very excited and immediately began to make preparations for her visit. We placed a chair for her with a beautiful cover on it. Bibha-di did an 'alpana' in front of the chair. The Mother's car stopped in front of our building. All of us were working quietly in our own places but were eagerly waiting for her arrival. The Mother came in and watched each of us doing our work. Then she took her seat and we all went to her, offered our salutation and received the sweets she had brought for us. What a lovely day it was for all of us. I remember we were blessed with another visit of the Mother to our department on one occasion of Akka's birthday.

We began to do embroidery work on a larger scale and the members of this department increased in number. Earlier we had seen Mother only in sarees and gowns, but from 1948 she started wearing salwar-kameez too when she went out to play tennis in the evenings.

Our group now consisted of Subhadra, Anusuya, Meenakshiamma, Gauri Ganguli, Ichchha-ben, Jaya, Minu, myself and our in-charge, Akka, who taught us many new stitches for our needlework. In 1946 (?) when the Second World War was coming to an end, we had a quiet 'Peace' celebration in the Ashram. It was organised by the Mother. We stitched bedcovers, tablecloths, chaircovers, cushions and cushion-covers, curtains etc. On each piece we embroidered with golden thread the design of a dragon.¹

¹ The designs of dragons were done by Sanjiban. In 1947, the Mother had given him a small card with dragons on it to be used as samples by him. In the Chinese lore, dragons, depending on their colour, represent forces of different levels in nature.

During this period, one day I had a strange experience. While embroidering an eye of a dragon, all of a sudden, I vividly felt the Mother stitching the design through me, as if she was within me and doing the work. The memory of this remarkable experience has always remained with me.

We would put our full concentration in our needlework and while we worked we tried to remember the Mother silently in our minds.

Most of the designs that we stitched in our department were the creative art of Sanjiban-da and a few were by Krishnalal-ji. On the day of the 'Peace' celebration, Sri Aurobindo's room and the Mother's room were decorated with the new embroidered linen.

Later, in 1956, when the Ashram Exhibition House was set up, all this dragon-embroidered handwork was displayed there, along with other items, for a short while for everyone to see. This was the first exhibition held in the Ashram. Till 1960 all that we stitched in our department was for the Mother's use. Gradually a change came. A variety of products were now coming up with the entry of new workers in the Embroidery Department.

We were learning something new all the time — new designs, new methods and new ways of stitching. We were learning to do embroidery on different kinds of cloth materials, with different combinations of colour threads. As I was learning externally, I was also constantly learning something deep within.

My attitude towards life, my thinking, my ideas began to change. Life becomes beautiful and meaningful when one lives and works for the Divine.

The finished products began to be displayed in the departments and some of these products were taken by the devotees as mementos from the Ashram and in return they gave an offering to the Mother.

Since we devoted most of our time to our work, we were not able to attend school as regular students, so the Mother arranged private classes for us.

In the evenings we went to the Playground throughout the week for group activities and games. One day, I was unable to perform well in a competition due to a problem with my eyes. Later, when I went to the Mother and told her about it, she looked at me and said, "What a pity, exercise and work give us good health and a good mind."

When Mother fell ill in 1962, Akka began to spend more and more time in the Mother's room. Anusuya was asked to supervise the work in the department, where not only did we do all the needlework, but we continued to do the washing and ironing of all the Mother's clothes. Work was divided very well amongst us and we always tried to work together very harmoniously. Apart from doing our own share of work, we also lent a helping hand to others whenever it was necessary. After the sudden tragic death of Anusuya, our department underwent another change. Ichchha-ben and Minu were given the supervision work. But Akka came now and then to see us at work. She would bring messages and instructions for us from the Mother. We too, on our part, would send our messages or queries to the Mother through her.

One day in 1966 Akka came to me and said, "Bela, I want you to teach embroidery to the students of our school." From then onwards, I became a faculty member of Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education.

The children began to come to the Embroidery Department to learn needlework. As the number of students increased Akka arranged a room in 'Delafon' (the building where the students had their classes) where I was to take my classes henceforth. I began to learn a lot as a teacher; it was very interesting. An affectionate bond was growing between the children and me and I felt very happy, and I enjoy the children's company, being a teacher till today.

We may mention here that boys and girls of the age between seven and nine were the students. With much care the teachers helped them to learn embroidery. Twice a year when exhibitions were held in the department, the work of the children was also displayed. Their embroidered small pieces were indeed remarkable. The interesting part of it was that all their products would be booked beforehand as the parents bought these!

Bela's narrative continues:

Today all the work in the Embroidery Department is going on as before with the same spirit and dedication. Whatever is produced here is not only for our Ashram inmates, but for other devotees, and also for all who appreciate beautiful artistic needlework.

With the Mother's gracious help may we go on striving towards perfection and always remain open to her divine Love.

This reminiscence gives us some glimpses of the life in the Ashram of those early times and a vivid image of those wonderful years of the growth of this department under the Mother's guidance. Now we mention a few more examples of the work in the department. The work done by Sarala Ganguli (mother of Gauri-di) needs to be specially mentioned. Her embroidery was of a different kind. She used to pass the fine coloured thread within each of the woven threads of the cloth and created the effect of weaving similar to the ones found in the well-known woven sarees of Dhaka (East Bengal). Bela had learned this type of work from her and used it on Mother's garments. She used to praise Sarala-di's embroidery work a lot.

When in 1948, the Mother started wearing salwar-kameez in the evenings, one day I entered Priti's (Das Gupta) room and found Gauri and Priti sitting on the floor and doing some embroidery. On enquiring about the work I was told that they were embroidering a border on the Mother's kameez. It was the first one to be done so and I was cautioned not to tell anyone about it. The Mother too did not know about it. Priti and Gauri were the first ones to have this brilliant idea of doing some embroidery on the Mother's kameez. From then on, this dress of hers was either embroidered or painted or prepared of some beautiful woven material.

It was not only the ladies who did embroidery. One year we saw a gown for the Mother beautifully embroidered by Chandubhai, one of the workers in our electric service and also a coach for games in the Department of Physical Education. That was quite an unexpected event for us. However soon Neel, a young Parsi, appeared on the scene and joined the department. 'Where did you learn to embroider?' Vasudha had asked him once. He said that when he was a small boy, he was sent to a convent school in Bombay with his elder sisters. Boys up to twelve years were allowed to study there. In his class there were two boys. The girls had to learn to do hand-stitches in different ways and the boys were given knitting. So Neel learned to knit in the class and that was his initiation to this art. He did wonderful embroidery on gowns and kameezes and stoles for the Mother. He introduced a new aspect in the department's work: he created beautiful shades in the designs by using a small length of split silk threads in the designs which gave the effect of painting to the work. Neel said that there was always an encouragement from the Mother, who would ask Akka three or four months before his birthday on 6th March, if Neel was going to do anything. When he wanted to do something new he would prepare some designs and show them to Akka and Akka would advise him and give him the material or he would himself buy it from the market and work on it. Though Mother did not use synthetic material, the very last time in 1962, when Neel did some embroidery for the Mother it was done on a nylon piece. He had purchased two pieces — one light blue and the other light pink. He sent the pieces to the Mother who chose the blue one. He worked on that for the Mother and Neel says that he was extremely happy when she used the stole.

Silloo Solena, sister-in-law of Neel, was also doing most beautiful embroidery and for the choice of right colours for her work she consulted and took the guidance from Neel. She used to do Mother's gowns and salwar-kameezes, and sarees, in cross-stitches done on fine gauze canvas.

Some elderly ladies would take the work from the department and work at home. They received the material on which the required design would be traced along with the coloured threads for their work. They did the embroidery! And what beautiful work at that.

Not only embroidery but other types of needlework were also done here. Vasudha taught quite a number of people to prepare laces of different types such as tatting lace, pillow lace, teneriff lace etc. and beautiful items prepared with different types of laces were offered to the Mother. We have already mentioned the chemise in crochet work prepared by Swarna and Sarala. We remember also the exquisite crochet works done by Nolina (elder sister of Sahana). She used to split lengthways the silk embroidery thread which is already very thin, and used that for the crochet work. We had the opportunity to see once a shawl she had made for the Mother. It was a beautiful work and was almost weightless! In later years beautiful paintings on dresses and sarees were being developed. Sometimes another type of handwork was kept in the department — beautiful batik work done here for the first time which would occasionally be displayed in this department. This work was done under Sanjiban's guidance.

I remember seeing Gauri doing embroidery on the Mother's kameez in the Playground, while waiting for the Mother to come to her room. It was a beautiful design of a tree and a bird was sitting on one of its branches. I was struck by the way she was stitching. She took a small length of thread split it in half and used a little of it on the bird's body to give a particular shade. Neel had taught them this process. As for the tree, the trunk was stitched but leaves were left to be done. She told me that Jayantilal, one of the Ashram artists would paint the leaves. This would give different dimensions to the design. Combining painting with embroidery was a new line of development in the embroidery work in the Ashram. This was introduced by Milli (Bratati), herself an artist, in-charge of a new section, 'Art House'. It was started under the Mother's guidance, where beautiful fabric painting and embroidery work were started sometime in 1968.

Vrinda, a young student of the Centre of Education started to do embroidery. Her embroidery was unique. She filled up her designs with very fine running stitches. The shades were marvellously blended. Her first offering to the Mother was the portraits sketched by the Mother of herself and Sri Aurobindo, now done in embroidery. When Akka took her work to the Mother, the Mother passed her palm a few times lovingly over the design and her comment was: "Oh this is not embroidery, this is painting!" Vrinda is still producing her wonderful work which for her is her offering to the Mother. Some of the women of the department are now learning with Vrinda's help to embroider in the same way.

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Accessories to The Mother's Outfits:

Veil, Stole, Cape, Kittycap, Footwear, Handbag and Crown

The veil was a piece of fine cloth of either silk or chiffon or any other soft material with a dimension of about 50cms x 1m. As with all her other clothes, this would have beautiful embroidered designs or be decorated with some work in lace. Whenever she came out of her room her head would be covered with a veil, the long ends of which were fixed behind the head.

The stole was used by the Mother when she lived on the second floor of the main Ashram building from March 1962, and when she never came down to the rooms on the first floor. She stopped wearing the coat and used a stole over her gown. This was again a piece of fine silk, georgette or chiffon. The pieces were about 2m long with a regular width of the cloth. These were beautifully embroidered or hand-painted. She draped the stole over her shoulders, the long ends hanging in front.

Before we take up the topic of the cape, we mention another item. From the end of November there would be heavy rain and occasional cyclones. The weather would be chilly. When the monsoon rains were over, the climate would turn quite cold.

Here is a note of the Mother:

Vasudha,

Would you bring me a waistcoat to the playground at about 6 o'clock in the evening? It is really too hot to put it on before I leave the house and without it at sunset I would feel cold. I am asking you to bring it instead of taking it myself in the car, because I need you to pin the veil (the chunni) properly on it.
I hope it will not inconvenience you.

With all my affection and blessings.

January 10, 1949

(Letters to my little smile, p. 119)

During one of the cold seasons, it suddenly occurred to Priti Das Gupta to get a cape for the Mother from Calcutta. On her request, her uncle brought one for the Mother. Both of them offered it to her and needless to say they were delighted when she accepted it.

The Mother started wearing it in the Playground. Gauri attended to her needs in the Playground. She would put the cape on her inside her room in the Playground. Only then did the Mother come out and stand in front of the map of India, and then the March Past in the Playground would begin.

Mother never used the cape inside her room in the Ashram main building.

However, from 1961 onwards she came to the balcony of the second floor to give her darshan on the special days to the people gathered on the street below. She used a cape then.

The kittycap was used by her in the evenings with salwar-kameez. We are told that she had seen a picture of a lady wearing it. She liked it and asked Mona Pinto to stitch one for her. The name 'kittycap' was also given by her. A loose netted cap with two bands at the front: the back is twisted and tucked in so that it fits tightly on the head; the bands are then wrapped around it to keep it in place. Her kittycaps were made of silk nettings.

An important accessory to the Mother's main outfits of sarees, gowns etc. were her footwear. This work was done by many.

In the early years, we remember seeing Gauri doing beautiful embroidery on the two narrow straps of the Mother's slippers while she was waiting for the Mother to come down to the Meditation Hall to give her blessings to the children who had gathered there after their morning school session was over. What a beautiful work it was! Lakshmi-ben, daughter of Khodabhai Patel, had settled in the Ashram with the other members of her family, in the late nineteen forties. She was the first person to start making footwear for the Mother. She shared with us the wonderful reminiscences of her work with the Mother. We consider ourselves very fortunate to have this precious record with us and to be able to reproduce it for our readers. Here is the report:

Mother used to wear matching chappals, a special type of chappals, matching with her dresses. Her chappals used to be made in Bombay and sent here, from J.J. (the famous footwear makers). My father used to offer sarees to the Mother at the time of Darshan or Pooja. At that time, Modern Silk House was the biggest shop here. And the owner was a devotee and also a friend of my brother. Whenever new bundles of sarees arrived, he would let us know. Once, my father decided to take the whole bundle for the Mother to choose from. The Mother chose sarees of different colours and then said to my father that she would also like to have matching sandals along with those sarees. My father remembered that Manibhai (Chandrakant's father) had brought a pair of chappals for the Mother from Bombay. The Mother had liked them also. They were very light, made of cork, but nails had been used in making them. The Mother asked my father to get five or six pairs of chappals of different colours. All the six boxes came. My father used to offer things to the Mother through me. Then I thought that the Mother lives here in Pondicherry and her cobbler lives in Bombay! This is quite funny, why should it be so? If the cobbler can make her chappals, then why can't I? I was rather young at that time. But very innocently this idea crossed my mind. It was a very strong thought even though I had never even seen the actual needle with which cobblers work! I asked my father whether out of these six pairs of the Mother's slippers, I could keep one single pair with me so as to try to make the Mother's chappals properly. My father was quite wonderstruck at this strange request of mine. But he told me to go and ask the Mother instead of answering me anything in favour or against.

In the morning when I took all the boxes of her slippers, I kept one box with me. Mother was observing everything. Then I said: "Mother, I want to ask you something. It is a request, Mother, I want to try to make your slippers." She asked: "Can you make them? How will you make them?" I said: "Mother, first I will open them up and see what are the materials used in them." The Mother smiled and said: "Do not spoil them." Then she said: "Don't put any nails in them, just stitch them." I didn't know anything till then. I came back home and opened up the slippers. I didn't sleep the whole night. I was so excited that the Mother had given me her chappals to learn to do it. Somehow or the other, I got the shape right, and with the chappals, went to Govindaraju (the person who was in charge of the Ashram cobblers' department) to learn the names of different parts, materials used etc. I wrote down everything in detail. I brought suede and leather and then made the slippers. The slippers that came from Bombay had 30 nails in them. I took out all the nails and put them in a box. When the chappals were ready, I thought I would give them to her on my birthday. The Mother was so happy to see that, my God! . . . And then I showed her all the nails that I had taken out. What I had done was that after taking out all the nails, I had the chappals stitched back. As my needles were small and I didn't know the art, I called Govindaraju to stitch them. I told him to come properly dressed, after a fresh bath. My father told him to spend whatever was necessary for making the Mother's chappals. He brought a new big needle and soon the work was finished. The Mother was really very, very pleased because she saw that it could be done without the nails. Then she told me to take all the other five pairs of slippers and redo them like the first pair. But she gave them to me one by one. This is how I started making the Mother's chappals.

I used to ask Vasudha-ben what dresses the Mother was going to have and accordingly I tried to prepare the slippers. All the slippers that Mother used in the Playground were made by me. Then one day she told me to change all the old ones from inside also. She told me to use new cloth. Again, one by one, I changed the material in all the chappals and remade them. . . . Later she used to wear slippers with soles made of warm cloth only as house chappals.

All this happened in the late nineteen forties. When Lakshmi-ben left Pondicherry, others in the department took up the work and Mother's slippers continued to be made here.

In the nineteen fifties, Sunanda Poddar was one of the lucky few who did this work. She gives us an interesting account of her work and experience:

Earlier, when the Mother had settled down in the Ashram, she wore slippers as her footwear.

As time passed the need for new footwear was felt; someone must have tried making them in the Ashram. Even the design of the two straps of the original was followed. That is why all the Mother's slippers that are still in the Ashram, either with sadhaks or lovingly kept in good condition in her room, are of the same style.

As the Mother's dresses were made in the Ashram so were her footwear, mostly matching the saris or gowns or kameezes.

Many Ashram ladies and some men too prepared these with lots of love. The adoration and skill and perfection which went in this work offered to her is simply magnificent.

Each design on the two straps was drawn by the artists. Then the ladies sat and poured their skill and love and embroidered the design in gold, silver and multi-coloured threads.

Sometimes they worked overnight to complete the slippers to reach the Mother for Darshan or birthdays.

Making the base of the slippers was a tough job. A leather shape matching the size of her feet with the two straps were made. Then, first of all, everything was covered with strong cotton cloth. Next came the interesting part of stitching the silk covering on the inside sole. The decorated straps were attached next — very neatly. Lastly the sole below was covered with dark felt.

There are many interesting stories and experiences connected with the Mother's feet and footwear.

Here is just one of them.

A girl who had newly arrived had an open-eye vision on the beach at the Ashram tennis ground. She was sitting and watching the sea waves breaking on the shore. She suddenly saw the impression of the Mother's feet on the wet sand in front of her. She rushed to the spot and tried to hold back the waves before they washed away the prints of the Mother's feet.

That is where the vision ended.

Some seven or eight months passed. This girl went to the Mother for her birthday blessing. Those were the days when the Mother used to select and give special gifts for the birthdays. Mostly they were books. This girl was also expecting the same. But the Mother is the Mother. The packet given to this very lucky girl contained a pair of Mother's gold brocade slippers!

You can guess the joy this gift must have given her.

In 1948 the Mother started to play tennis. She wore the Japanese 'tabi' which covers the foot upto the ankle. Priti Das Gupta writes:

When the Mother played tennis, she would always wear a pair of 'tabi', a special Japanese footwear which was neither shoe nor sock but it was most comfortable. The pairs of 'tabi' that the Mother had brought from Japan were all more or less worn out. One day the Mother was talking to Vasudha about 'tabi' at the tennis-court. They were discussing how to procure these 'tabi'. As I was standing beside them, I overheard everything. And as luck would have it, just a few days later my youngest uncle arrived here. He was going to Japan and had come to the Mother to ask for her permission. I was delighted beyond words.

"You have to get some 'tabi' for Mother from Japan," I told my uncle.

"Get me the measurement of the Mother's feet. Only then will the 'tabi' fit her," my uncle replied.

With a sheet of paper and pencil in my hand I entered her room in the Playground. She had come back after playing tennis and was resting on her sofa.

"Could you please place your feet on this paper? I will make a tracing. My youngest uncle (Himanshu), is going to Japan. He will get some 'tabi' for you and needs your size," I told her.

The Mother agreed at once.

I bent down to trace out the Mother's feet. The more I looked at her feet, the more I was filled with wonder. My hand would just not move. I had never had such an opportunity to look at her feet for so long. . . .

I do not remember how long I must have sat there staring at the Mother's feet. I suddenly came back to my senses when the Mother gently touched my head. I quickly traced out her Feet with the pencil.

(Moments Eternal, pp. 3-4)

The Mother wore the 'tabi' and used platform slippers made of cork. This was the type of footwear she used in the Playground.

This is the report we get again from Lakshmi-ben's reminiscences regarding her experience of making the first of such slippers for the Mother:

Sometime later, one day the Mother told me, "I want slippers made — ½" here, here 1" and here." That meant 2½" (from top of the heel in a slipper) platform model. Inside, I put cork and it was very light. With a blade I used to cut the cork. There was no machine in those days. I used to cut everything by hand only. At some places I stitched and at other places I pasted it. I had to make the suede very thin. I used to place it on the floor and then cut it with a cutter that Govindaraju had got from Madras for this work. I learnt how to use it. Suede was like leather and I had to slice it as thin as cloth so that I could give it the right shape. I still remember the design and also how it was cut. I had the measurement of the Mother's chappal with me. She put her feet and drew it. That was the exact measurement.

Later on, Udar got these made by the cobblers who worked in the basement of the 'Golconde' building. Gautam Chawla, then a young boy, learnt to make this from the cobblers and later prepared these slippers for the Mother.

Mother went to play tennis at about 4 p.m. After the game she would come to the Playground and then would go back to the Ashram building. When she came out for the evening she carried a large, white handbag.

Another accessory for the Mother's outfits prepared here was known as the 'crown'. This was made of a broad band of cloth, the material matching the Mother's saree. The crowns were embroidered with threads in gold or silver and set with some precious stones and beautiful designs were made. This band, or the crown, the Mother fixed around her forehead to hold the pallu of the saree which covered her head. In the early thirties Lalita used to prepare these crowns for the Mother. But later others also prepared this item for the Mother.

Here is an interesting account of this work from a recorded report by Lakshmi-ben remembering her work with the Mother in 1949. Lakshmi-ben says:

Once Ma brought to me her pearl necklace. Pearl signifies occultism. She held my hand and said: "I have something very, very old and it is broken and you have to remake it. Can you make it?" "Yes, I can make it." I would always say, "Mother, I shall try it." By remaking what she meant was that I should de-thread it and redo it. In my life I had not even seen pearls ever till then.

She took me by the hand into the room and then opened a drawer, brought out a tiny box and then said: "See, this is the thing, you have to make it again exactly like this." I said, "Mother, I will try." Then she said: "You have to come here and do it," meaning that I could not take it home to do it.

Till then I had never yet gone to her room upstairs. She was waiting for me at the entrance. She took me by the hand and made me sit down at a place saying: "Here there is enough light. So you sit here." Do you remember where Dyuman-bhai had kept the Mother's asana (seat) upstairs in her room? It was exactly there I was made to sit to work. I sat and then she herself went to bring the table and I always used to keep all things along with apron and napkin with me only. Then she said: "Very good, you must use an apron. I will give you a small velvet tray so that the pearl beads don't roll away." They were very, very tiny pearls.

I was in my twenties. It was November 1950. She was very kind to me.

She had given me a box and a velvet tray. A special thread was brought by my father and a special needle also. I do not even remember now how I repaired that necklace. I crossed the two threads and fixed four pearls on all sides and I criss-crossed the thread and made the necklace. After doing a part of it there was some meenakari work to be inserted. Then, again the other pearls were continued. It was a thick necklace with an ornate design. In between four squares there was one pink-coloured pearl in the middle, with four pearls around it. It was given to the Mother by her great friend in Japan, Mrs. Kobayashi. She told me: "Therefore I love this necklace so much. On this Darshan I want to wear it on the crown."

I used to go to the Mother at 2 p.m. in the afternoon for doing her necklace. She used to say: "Take a little rest and come." She used to be so careful about every small detail concerning us, you cannot imagine. I used to keep all my things with her and then return home. The next day when I would go, she herself would bring all the things for me — no one else would come. She would come with the table, tray and everything. There were other people there. But she would not tell anyone to bring my things. Then suppose after ½ hour or so, if it became a little cloudy, she would take me by my hand again to the window near the balcony and make me sit there near more light. At 4 p.m. she would take the box etc. again and keep those back in her cupboard. I would do my pranam and then taking flowers or fruits, I used to return home. . . .

First, I made only half of it for two days. It was a difficult work. The Mother was pleased because I used to keep everything ready. The Mother used to always say that everything should be perfect. It was the particular attitude that mattered most. She used to say, "You work slowly but perfectly." If the attitude is right, then all the things come around automatically. I am personally a very good organiser. I keep everything in great detail — all ready when needed.

Every day I would work only for two hours. And it took me 10 days to do the necklace. She would not allow me to work more than two hours as she used to say that it is hard on the eyes. Sometimes she would say: "Lakshmi, my child come and sit here." She herself was so busy doing so many works but she constantly kept an eye on my work and needs — if the light was correct or if I was hungry or tired. Her loving care was incredible. She used to give me so much love and tender care that I used to get totally overwhelmed. Sometimes she would come suddenly, just like that, with a typical smile on her face and with her hand hidden at the back. She would give me some biscuit or chocolate.

She told me: "I shall put this necklace on my crown on the Darshan day — 24th November." On the 23rd when I went upstairs, she told me twice, "I shall wear the necklace." She didn't wear it around the neck. I had hopes to see that worn by her on the 24th as I had remade it. She would not wear bangles or necklaces. She used to wear finger rings and also anklets.

You know, in the first week of December Sri Aurobindo passed away. About a week before that I had a dream that I was sitting just like this in my garden room, in the open and something dropped from the sky on my lap and I saw that it was the same necklace. I picked it up as it was the Mother's mala from the crown. . . . In November Sri Aurobindo was not well and the Mother had almost retired to look after him. She was very busy. The Mother stopped wearing all these things after Sri Aurobindo passed away.

Years later, in 1957, the Mother started giving her sarees etc. to the Ashram inmates. Lakshmi-ben says:

When I went to the Mother, she said: "I am going to give you something special." I had forgotten all about it and she gave me that same mala I had redone for her. Then I realised that when it fell from the sky on my lap — may be that was the time when she had decided that for me.

This report by Lakshmi-ben makes us aware of all the work that was done for preparing the precious necklace again for the Mother's use. It reveals to us also the wonderful ways of the Mother's work.

We shall now digress a little. This topic on pearls brings back to our memory Mme. Théon's words to the Mother. Who was Madame Théon? In the first decade of the last century, the Mother went to Tlemcen, a little town in Algeria as a guest of Monsieur Théon and Madame Théon. Both were accomplished occultists and the Mother went there to practise occultism with them.

"I shall tell you about Madame Théon." Mother addressed her class of very young children.

"Madame Théon was born in the Isle of Wight," began Mother. "She lived in Tlemcen with her husband who was a great occultist. Madame Théon herself was an occultist with great powers, she was a remarkable clairvoyant and had mediumistic faculties. Her powers were of an exceptional order. She had received an extremely thorough and rigorous training, and could exteriorise, that is to say, from her material body she could go out in a subtle body, in full consciousness and do this twelve times in a row, up to the extreme limit of the world of forms. . . ."

(Sujata Nahar, Mother's Chronicles, Book Three, p. 118)

Once, when talking about the significance of numbers, the Mother said:

This deep meaning of numbers, . . . I got it in Tlemcen, in the Overmind. . . . It was above, just above the realm of the gods. It was there that the numbers took on a living meaning for me; not a mental game — a living meaning. . . .

That is where Madame Théon recognised me, because of the twelve pearls in a formation over my head. She told me, "You are That, because you have this. Only That can have this!"

(Ibid., p. 152)

This is a remarkable story.