Rob Sidon, a marketing consultant and devotee, reached out to media outlets across the country. The initial pitch was tough, he recalled: "She hugs?" But eventually the "hugging saint" caught on, and now she draws thousands in America and elsewhere. She spends half the year on the road, including two American tours. The lines for hugs, which are free, are so long that people are given tokens to keep order.
Her Western following is enormous. The stadium was crowded with American faces, including Linda Evans of Dynasty fame and Yolanda King, a daughter of the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.
But tens of thousands of Indians also lined up for their hug. What is the appeal? Most people had trouble putting words to it. Fleisher, who is 58, compared it to the unconditional love a mother provides "even when you're bad."
K.G. Jagadish, 74, a retired engineer and executive who was waiting to hear her speak this morning, said he did not see her as God, just as a compassionate woman seeking world peace. "She's very, very pure," he said.
Using simple parables, her talk focused on elevating love over negativity, peace over anger. "Serving others should not be viewed as a tireless endeavor, but rather as an opportunity given to us by God," she said, or rather her translator did, since she spoke in Mayalayam, her native language.
The chief executives' discussion, in contrast, was considerably more pragmatic. They agreed to support Kalam's plan, Providing Urban Amenities in Rural Areas. It calls for government and business to provide jobs and infrastructure to clusters of villages, to stanch the flow of people to the cities.
The collective brainpower -- and bank balances -- in the room were a reminder of how India, in the 1990s, spawned a wealth of technology entrepreneurs. Sabeer Bhatia, the founder of Hotmail, was among the speakers.
The weekend seemed to pose a question: Does India need more Amma-like love and compassion, or does it need -- as some of the executives argue -- more wireless technology? Some combination, many suggested, including Kalam, the president of the country, who combines exhortations for technological progress with entreaties to preserve India's civilization.
Everyone knew the solutions, said B.V. Jagadeesh, the president and CEO of Netscaler. They needed someone like Amma to bring them to the masses.
"It's about marketing," he said, "how we can use the power of Amma to deliver."
That power was evident on Saturday, when the lines wrapped around the stadium. Inside, as her Caucasian devotees turned slowly pink in a burning sun, she sat as still as a statue, eyes closed, while devotees bathed her feet in flower petals.
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