The spiritual atmosphere, positive environment, music, yoga and various other activities apart from formal school education help in moulding them and making them culturally and morally rich human beings. Each of them can stay here and study as much as they want. Many of our children here have completed their degree in Engineering, Hotel management, Fine arts, Music etc. and many of them have settled with good jobs outside & some of them are employed in Sai Gramam itself.
Every child who comes here has a story… a story that brought him here. Sometimes it is difficult to undo the past, but the future is always in the front, and sometimes we can be a catalyst to change the lives in front of us
Thamasoma Jyothirgamaya
Amavasi becomes Poornachandran
His name was Amavasi, the Tamil word meaning ‘Dark Moon’. Later his name was changed to Poornachandran, meaning ‘Full Moon’. It was not a simple change of name. There was a trail of shocking agony, society’s care and his innate talent that ultimately ended in a new name. Or else, it was also a story of displeasing rags giving way for pleasing ragas
To begin with, Amavasi was a small boy belonging to a Tamil mother, Kaliyamma of Salem, who was deserted by her husband Sreenivas. Kaliyamma was a ragpicker and naturally, Amavasi was a child ragpicker. One day in 1998, while picking rags in Kannur, Kerala, he spotted a steel box, a look alike of tiffin box. When he could not open its lid, Amavasi took it to a nearby workshop. There, the container exploded, tearing away his left hand and blinding his right eye. “I had never seen a bomb. After stumbling upon the heavy container, I stopped work as I thought its sale was sure to fetch the money for a day’s meal”, recalls today’s Poornachandran. The tragic incident shook the conscience of entire State. The Sri Sathya Sai Orphanage Trust came to the fore and adopted Amavasi. He was accommodated at the Trust’s Kollam shelter. Amavasi’s song was an integral part of every celebration there. His songs got much praise from a number of dignitaries. Noted music composer, Sri. Perumbavoor G. Ravindranath offered him lessons in Carnatic music. Eventually he had made notable performances in the popular reality show, Idea Star Singer Season 6 of Asianet channel. Alongside, he passed higher secondary education procuring 65 percent marks. By then he was a well-known young singer who could sing with veteran playback singer P. Susheela and impress gifted singers including K.J. Yesudas and S.P. Balasubrahmanyam. “Earlier, my mother was the lone listener to my performances. Lucky that the lethal explosion didn’t leave my voice muffled”, said Poornachandran. He joined for BPA Music (Vocal) at the renowned Swati Thirunal Music College, Thiruvananthapuram. The government of Kerala has now appointed him as Lower Division Clerk at the same college. Sri Sathya Sai Orphanage Trust – Kerala has produced a documentary on the exceptional transformation of a petite ragpicker Amavasi into Poornachandran, an exponent of ragas. The film christened, ‘Saphalamee Jeevitham’ was premiered at Nila Theatre, Thiruvananthapuram on 1st of March 2013, which was inaugurated by then Chief Minister, Sri. Oommen Chandy
