As the flow of tourists dries up, Puttaparthi prays for an economic miracle. The Sathya Sai Trust wants to develop Baba’s ashram on the lines of Shirdi andTirupati.
In Puttaparthi, a garland outside Prashanti Nilayam sells for Rs300 if the buyer is a foreigner and an ordinary hotelier makes a cool Rs50 on a cup of coffee served in numerous small restaurants serving Italian, French, Tibetan, French and Chinese cuisine. The steady stream of pilgrims has been supporting over 20,000 families making a livelihood around Sri Sathya Sai Baba’s ashram.
Last Sunday, the entire pilgrim town mourned the death of their spiritual leader, but it’s only now that the full import of how this may affect them materially is sinking in.
The first sign of change can be seen in the realty sector which is usually the most sensitive. Some of the builders have already put on hold the launch of new projects.
“Our future now depends on how the Sathya Sai Trust manages the over Rs1.2 lakh crore assets at its disposal. It is almost certain that the donations from abroad will plummet. The trust will have to come out with plans to generate resources for welfare programmes. Right now, flats in Puttaparthi command a price of Rs1,100 to Rs2,500 per square foot and for independent houses it goes up to Rs3,000 per sq.ft. There is no immediate fear over projects that are already booked, but those who had plans to launch new projects are apprehensive about the future,” admits Gopalakrishna Bhat of Earthen Song India, a company which has a niche presence in Puttaparthi for villas.
This sleepy village 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. Faced with fears of disintegration, plans are afoot to develop Puttaparthi into a pilgrim centre on the lines of Shirdi and Tirupati. “A 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 as in Shirdi,” said an office-bearer in the Sathya Sai Trust.
The memorial for Sathya Sai Baba may in fact be bigger and more grandiose than the one built for Shirdi Sai Baba. The statue of Puttaparthi Sai Baba is likely to be made of gold.
Even then, the residents of Puttaparthi anticipate a sharp drop in number of pilgrims from abroad after Baba’s death. That’s why the Sathya Sai Trust has wasted no time in preparing a Rs1000-crore plan to develop Puttaparthi on the model of Shirdi and Tirupati.
“With the death of Baba, most of the foreign pilgrims and even those from India may not wish to visit this place frequently. But that can be offset by organising festivities. For instance, Sathya Sai Baba’s birthday on November 23, his mother Eshwaramma’s birthday on May 5, which is being celebrated as Eshwaramma Day, Onam, Good Friday, Chinese New Year Day, Shivarathri, Sankranti, Deepavali, Janmashtami etc will all be celebrated on a grand scale on the lines of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam organising Brahmotsavam and Srinivasa Kalyanam,” says Rajan, a manager at Om Hotel & Lodge in Puttaparthi.
The hospital industry in Puttaparthi, which receives pilgrims from more than 100 countries, has already begun to feel the aftershocks. “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,” says Rajan. But he remains optimistic that Baba will ensure their well-being even after his death.
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