The entire pilgrim town of Puttaparthi wept inconsolably on April 24 as the 25,000-strong population of the town felt that it had been orphaned by the death of its spiritual leader Sri Sathya Sai Baba.
The entire pilgrim town of Puttaparthi wept inconsolably on April 24 as the 25,000-strong population of the town felt that it had been orphaned by the death of its spiritual leader Sri Sathya Sai Baba.
But true to the spirit of Baba, who always oozed hope and peace, Puttaparthi is now hoping to make a new beginning after the godman’s death.
With the harsh reality that Puttaparthi would never be the same in the absence of Baba dawning upon the pilgrim town, devotees and the Sathya Sai Central Trust are now bracing up to build on the godman’s legacy.
The sleepy village which has, over the years, turned into a global pilgrim centre with its own airport, railway station, university, super-specialty hospital and a slew of educational institutions, is hoping to draw sustenance from Baba’s Samadhi (tomb) at Sai Kulwant Hall in Prashanti Nilayam, where the spiritual leader used to interact with his devotees when he was alive.
Faced with the worst fears of disintegration, plans are on to develop Puttaparthi into a major international pilgrim centre on the lines of Shirdi and Tirupati. “A grand Samadhi will come up at the spot where Baba has been buried and a statue of Sathya Sai Baba would be installed at the Samadhi, just like the pilgrim centre at Shirdi,” said sources in the Sathya Sai Trust.
But the memorial for Baba would be much bigger and grander than the one built for Shirdi Sai Baba in the Maharashtra town. The statue of Puttaparthi Sai Baba is likely to be in gold.
Residents of Puttaparthi are apprehensive about a drastic drop in the number of pilgrims from abroad. The trust is alive to this reality, and an action plan is said to be in the pipeline to ensure a steady stream of pilgrims all round the year to the pilgrim town, even in the absence of Baba now.
“A Rs1,000-crore proposal is being prepared to develop Puttaparthi on the model of Shirdi and Tirupati. With the death of Baba, most of the foreign devotees and even those from India may not wish to visit the place frequently.
But that can be offset by organising various year-long festivities on a grand scale: for instance, Sathya Sai Baba’s birthday on November 23 and his mother Eshwaramma’s birthday on May 5, which is being celebrated as Eshwaramma Day. Similarly Onam, Good Friday, Chinese New Year Day, Shivarathri, Sankranti, Diwali, Janmashtami, etc. will all be celebrated on a grand scale on the lines of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam organising Brahmotsavam and Srinivasa Kalyanam,” said Rajan, a manager at Om Hotel & Lodge in Puttaparthi.
According to Rajan, the hospitality industry in Puttaparthi is expected to suffer a setback in the short run .
However, he is optimistic about the new plans being charted. “Though no big slump has been noticed in hotel bookings from abroad, the duration of their visit has turned short. Earlier, the bookings used to be for a period of 15 days to two months; now we are getting room bookings only for a few days or a week. We receive pilgrims from about 144 countries,” said Rajan, who has immense faith that Baba would ensure their well-being even after his death.
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