Kochi: Acclaimed as a heavenly soul by her devotees all over the earth, Mata Amritanandamayi, lovingly called "AMMA", hit half century on September 27.

Poojas were performed at her holy feet after dawn on her 50th birth anniversary. After that, "Amriteswari', as she is worshipped, addressed the sea of humanity which had gathered since early September 27 to hear the "love incarnate'.

Devotees from 191 countries have gathered in Kochi to participate in the birthday celebrations, which was attended among others by President A P J Abdul Kalam, Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani, Human Resources Development Minister Murli Manohar joshi and a host of India's "Who is Who" in the political, business and cultural spheres.

The Vice President will be participating in the valedictory function on September 27.

Famous Hollywood actress Linda Evans, Bollywood star Jackie Shroff and Malayalam matinee idols Mammooty and Mohanlal also graced the occasion.

Born in 1953 in a poor fishing village in Kollam district of God's Own Country, as Kerala is hailed, "AMMA" has taken initiative in starting several projects to help the poor and downtrodden, including the Amritakuteeram project. The mutt has built over 1,200 earthquake-proof homes and community service facilities in Gujarat after the horrible earthquake in 2001.

The Western media has described her as the "Hugging Saintess" of India. It is her style to hug all her devotes while blessing them and she has so far hugged 50 crore mortals, it is claimed.

PTI