She had already met her in Bali through a psychic, said Ramani. ``I communicated with Protima after she died and she told me that she has reunited with her son, Siddharth, and is very happy. She wanted all of us to be happy for her too.''

Those who had gathered to join Ramani, ``her closest friend and soul sister,'' didn't seem to be beside themselves with such joy. They did their bit for the shraddhanjali, though. Especially her daughter, former actress Pooja, who had flown down from Mumbai for the evening. She said that ``everyone has to go some day and I believe that people who go on such journeys always attain nirvana.''

The gathering was less than full, but it was more than made up forin emotion. There was a lot of it on display. Even from ghazal singer Rita Ganguly, who had met Protima Gauri for all of 10 minutes.

Surupa Sen, Protima Gauri's disciple, performed Odissi taught by `Gauri Maa'. Sen said little, letting her feet do the talking. Then Ramani let Protima do the talking, this time via the screen. She showed a nine-minute film, where Bedi danced, spoke about Nrityagram (her adopted village near Bangalore), and then declared her desire to leave the world.

Among those who attended the evening, which Ramani insisted was going to be a happy one, were CNN's South Asia correspondent Anita Pratap and US Ambassador Richard Celeste's wife, Jacqueline Lundquist.

For Ramani, Bedi was a friend who grew with her. ``We started our two villages together,'' Ramani said. ``I still remember Protima looking for money with her bottomless bowl. I found out about her death when I was in Bali. When I spoke to her, we assured each other that we would communicate with each otherfrequently.''