MUMBAI: An art and music extravaganza 'Guru Vandana', featuring exponents Shiv Kumar Sharma and Hariprasad Chaurasia in a special jugalbandi of the santoor and the flute, will mark spiritual guru Paramhansa Yogananda's 125th birth anniversary year.

It will be held on 30 September at the Ganesh Kala Krida Manch here.

The evening will celebrate the ideal of service and is a fundraiser to increase awareness and support for the services offered by the Paramhansa Yogananda Charitable Trust towards the welfare of widows in Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh.

There will also be a launch of "Art as a Hidden Message", a book on art written by Swami Kriyananda, as well as an online exhibition of Nayaswami Jyotish's paintings.

Organisers are encouraging educational and cultural institutes and foundations to be a part of the event.

The Gorakhpur-born Yogananda moved to the US in 1920 and lived there until his death in 1952 preaching kriya yoga and meditation to tens of thousands of Americans. His ‘Autobiography of a Yogi’ is considered a spiritual classic since it came out in 1946.

A recent film titled, The Answer saw actor Victor Banerjee essay Yogananda.

(Source: IANS)