a reception for the Acharya of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam. As the municipal chairman, it was my duty to provide a proper welcome and respect to Swamigal who was visiting after a long time. The opportunity to welcome His Holiness in a manner that was exponentially greater than receptions given to kings and viceroys, was accorded to me, along with my supporters: Sri M.Kandaswamy Servai, Sri. R.Srinivasa Iyengar, the lawyer and the larger public. The procession that was seven miles long, was preceded by seven groups of nadaswaram players, three band groups, four elephants, many horses and camels, instrumental players, Bhajan singers, Seva Samitis. I had the blessing to hold the front side of the ivory palanquin where our guru for the whole world, Sri Sankaracharya Swamigal was seated. He gave darshan to numerous people lined on both sides of the roads, in every floor, irrespective of their religion, caste or creed. There was no count of arathis, Poorna kumbams, garlands, asthika goshams. The procession that started at 6 pm ended at 10 pm in front of the mutt at Thiruvanaikkaval. I was enthralled in my service to Swamigal as service to Lord Shiva himself". Dignitaries who have met the Acharya As a Jagadguru, he was popular with dignitaries including the King and Queen of Nepal, the Queen Mother of Greece, the Dalai Lama, Mahatma Gandhi, M. G. Ramachandran, Kannadasan, C. Rajagopalachari, M. S. Subbulakshmi, Indira Gandhi, R. Venkataraman, Subramanian Swamy, Shankar Dayal Sharma,Kalki Krishnamurthy, Sivaji Ganesan, Ilaiyaraaja, R. M. Veerappan, Prannoy Roy, Amitabh Bachchan, R. P. Goenka, Dhirubhai Ambani, Birla Family, JRD Tata and Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Books See also Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham Ramana Maharshi Dalai lama M.S. Subbulakshmi Vinoba Bhave References External links Official website of Kanchi Kamakoti peetham Book "Hindu Dharma: The Universal Way of Life" by Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Press. History of Kanchi Mutt Sri Kanchi Mahaswamy Charitram 1894 births 1994 deaths 20th-century Hindu religious leaders Indian Hindu monks Shankaracharyas