“This can’t be England” had been my first thought on arriving at Chalfont St. Peter, “No - it must be Pune in early spring”. After a number of weeks of bitter cold, the skies were blue and it was very hot that day. A large group of Indians seated beneath some trees in their customary fashion added to this feeling.

There was brisk activity everywhere. Groups of “men in blue” (overalls) were busy sawing lengths of wood, setting up tiny marquees for the shops. The main Pendal itself was an impressive pentagon shaped white marquee inside which some ladies had already set about with the decorations.

The registration office was set up late in the evening, their tables filled with a colourful array of ginger hearts, and gift baskets made by the ladies over the last few weeks. Outside the office, some Yuva Shakti girls could be seen hanging up pink paper hearts – with wishes written on them by the continuous flow of people arriving from all over the world.

A hi-tech mobile restaurant working around some old fashioned campsite fires - the catering area - had the Austrians, Germans and Russians chopping cabbages; Italians stirring huge pots of pasta and the English constantly running back and forth with well-laden wheelbarrows. Armies of Yuva Shakti who had taken over the heavier chores were seen washing up massive pots and serving the long serpentine queues at the meals.

Throughout the weekend, smaller groups of people could be seen singing, shoe beating or simply chatting, in the lush green English fields there. There was a lot of enthusiasm and zeal in the evening programs, as the audience joined in with the musicians in an amazing way.

The popularity of the “Mini-Vashi” tent was quite evident from the endless flow of people. We heard that there was an entry code for people wanting a workshop: “Do you want to be the doctor, or a patient?” Invariably people took on both roles.

Stacks of audio tapes lay piled in neat rows outside the books and DVDs pendal, where both buyers and volunteers could be seen jostling for space (or the lack thereof). Inside this particularly busy stall was also an information desk collecting petitions for an appropriate monument at William Blake’s grave, which was recently discovered by 2 Sahaja yogis.

There were other stalls selling refreshments, hotdogs and even French crepes. A hi-tech stall raising funds for Dharamshala School had enthusiastic Yuva Shakti using innovative sales techniques to convince people to buy the T-shirts they were dressed in…..

The day of the Puja itself opened to amazing skies once again. As serpentine queues covered every shower cubicle available, some of the organisers were touring the grounds attending to various responsibilities, including encouraging people into a meditative mood.

During the day a large group of Yuva Shakti were seen performing a jolly run in converging circles with a colourful blend of all the flags of the world. The Indian flag was seen at the fore, and powerful beating drums followed this procession. Later in the evening they repeated this exercise in greeting Shri Mataji and Sir C.P., as their car was driven in. It seemed to be a rare moment in history as the Indian drums receded to begin the solemn yet majestic sound of the Scottish bagpipes.

Earlier, there was a lovely speech in the puja pendal given by Gregoire, one of the world council leaders. Recalling the first ever international puja which had taken place in the UK, he shared his feelings on being at the biggest international puja outside India, which this was.

As Shri Adishakti took her throne on stage, the backdrop behind her seemed to come to life. The hosting countries had collectively prepared a giant image of worship, where the figures of deities, saints and people from various countries of the world gathered on the British Isles. The bhajan group flowed with the tremendous vibrations of the joy emanating from our Divine Mother.

Later there were many gifts from the hosting countries for everyone, and the endless distribution of prasad was well received by satisfied yogis.

The waiting buses were filled up in no time, as people began their journey back home. The new dawn felt like England was somehow re-born.

Sharmila D., London