Waiting outside the President's office

At 5:45 President Gorbachev’s daughter requested me to go and wait outside her father’s office until he came. I went there and I was sitting in the area where his two secretaries were working. They were so kind to me. His secretary, Natasha, said, “I have something of yours.”

She had visited our recent Jharna-Kala art exhibit, and there she had been given one of my small bird drawings. She said, “I keep it at my desk.” We talked and talked. She asked me so many questions.

Next to the secretaries were three or four bodyguards. They would not enter into conversation, but they knew who I was. They looked so powerful and fearsome. They did not need guns!

In addition to these staff members, there were seven people with video cameras waiting for President Gorbachev. They were from two different television stations. If he had to give an interview to these people before me, I knew that I would have to wait a long time. Then President Gorbachev’s daughter saved me. She wanted me to have my interview before them. I am so grateful to her. She was unimaginably kind and affectionate to me.

From:Sri Chinmoy,Sri Chinmoy in Russia, Agni Press, 2001
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/scr