H2H has always taken great pleasure in presenting to you Swami's mammoth drinking water projects which have brought relief to millions of people in India. We now offer you a quiz based on our cover stories on this topic to refresh your memories of the unique approach Bhagavan Baba has taken to answer one of humanity's most pressing and perhaps most ignored shortcomings - the provision of free and clean drinking water to all.

1. In our cover story “The Sri Sathya Sai Godavari Drinking Water Project” from the December 2005 issue, while giving a brief sketch of the Godavari River, we stated: ‘Godavari is one of the great rivers of India, mentioned in the scriptures and considered sacred. Rising in the Satmala Hills in the Western Ghats close to the city of Nasik in the State of Maharashtra, the 1450 km long Godavari, flows in a southeasterly direction, picking up many tributaries on the way. Entering Andhra Pradesh, it cuts right through two Districts, East Godavari and West Godavari, appropriately named, and then empties into the Bay of Bengal.’

What was one of the chief reasons we mentioned in our article for the sacredness of River Godavari?

A. It is associated with the incarnation of Lord Rama and legend has it that it was here that Ravana abducted Mother Sita.
B. Adi Shankara won a philosophical debate with a renowned pundit on its banks.
C. The water never gets polluted.
D.It is the home of thousands of peacocks who nest in nearby wetlands.

2. In the same cover story, we specified the variety of difficulties that the poor people were facing regarding the water shortage problem: ‘In the East Godavari District especially, which is full of forests and populated largely by tribals, people living just about ten or fifteen kilometres from the river faced an acute drinking water problem.’

What system of water usage were the poor people mainly depending on?

A. Rain harvesting.
B. Tanker deliveries.
C. Mostly on borewells.
D. Water collected from dirty pools.

3. While proudly sharing the delightful news of the prospective completion of the immense Godavari water project, we mentioned some astonishing facts: ‘When completed, about five hundred villages in the two districts are expected to be benefited and about half a million people would receive Sai water to drink every single day!’

By the way, if one counts all the people benefited by the Sai Drinking Water Projects [including the seven million or so in Chennai], then in the last one decade, Swami has provided drinking water to about ______________ people!

A. 7 million
B. 8 million
C. 9 million
D. 10 million

4.We also informed you of Swami’s account of a fascinating event that took place during the memorable Godavari Project: ‘Recently, in His Guru Poornima Discourse on 21st July 2005, Swami said, “Recently, a strange incident took place. Subramaniam of Larsen & Toubro and Chief Engineer Kondal Rao had gone to East Godavari and West Godavari region in connection with the Water Supply Project works. As they were conducting a survey in a forest area, they were confronted by a group of naxalites (terrorists). The naxalites questioned them, "Who are you? Why have you come here? Who has sent you here? How dare you enter our area without our permission?"’

After learning that it was Bhagavan who had sent the engineers, how did the naxalites react?

A. They ignored them.
B. They banned their entry into their region.
C. They guided the engineers as to where to lay the pipes.
D. They threatened to kidnap them.

5. In Love Story Revealed part of the cover story from the December 1st 2003 issue, we presented a digest of remarks made by Prof. Anantaraman about his experience in Kyoto, when he went there on account of an invitation sent to him by the UN HABITAT for a panel discussion, in which they wanted him to discuss the financial aspects of the Sri Sathya Sai Anantapur Water Project.

Prof Anantaraman shared: ’The panel presentation was on the next day. I was the fourth speaker in a panel of six speakers. Most of those who spoke before me, talked about Financing Models, Pay-back methods, Cost of Recovery, etc. I had prepared a Power Point presentation but after seeing the children's ballet I realized there was no point in making this presentation because financing was not the important part of Sri Sathya Sai Water Project. So in the last minute I decided not to do my Power Point presentation. Instead I began by saying that I am no expert on water, in fact, I don't even know why I am here. Therefore I am not going to make a presentation on financing to you; instead what I am going to offer you is a case study.’

So instead of making a presentation on financing, what was the case study based on?

A. On how lack of water affected one family.
B. On Swami's Compassion and Love.
C. On how society's welfare depends on recognizing the divinity of God's creation.
D. On how the power of prayer can bring help.

- Heart2Heart Team