This was one of the trips decided impromptu. Chetan asked If I wanna go and for the want of something better to do that weekend, I said yes. There were 4 of us, Chetan, Roopa, I and Siddarth (Chetan's college friend). I still hadnt forgiven him for armtwisting me into Jhoom Barobar (notice the Marathi influence on my language!!)
Tickets were booked and we set off on a rainy Friday night in a semi-luxury bus..which to my dismay was with a leaky roof and an equally horrible movie.. Arjun Pandit. Siddartha(Sid) and
Chetan (henceforth referred as C2 for Chetan Choudhari)got cosy chatting up on old times.. Roopa rolled over and fell dead asleep and I was left tossing up and down uncomfortably. It was strange for me as I was not yet particularly friendly with anyone here.
Bus arrived at 3 in the morning and we had to scout for a place to crash. I didnt have faintest of clues as to what to do where to go etc but C2 and Sid were veterans. Its hard to be here and not know Marathi. Shirdi turned out to be quite different from the sleepy village I had imagined.
We found a room in Neeta hotel close to the Sai baba's temple we were supposed to visit. A single room with 2 beds, attached loo/bath, TV costs 700 bucks :"(. There was a Maharashtra state Tourism hotel as well next to ours but that needed an advanced booking. Its always easier and advisable to find a room close to the temple. Just get off the bus and ask someone for directions towards the temple. DO NOT TAKE A TOUT FOR ANYTHING.Prepare to be duped.
Bought Prasad at local stall and some flowers, dumped shoes in a sack and deposited with temple staff. Limited lockers are also available for stuffing things into as cellphones and cameras are not allowed inside (roopa smuggled ours; hidden in her dreadfully pink Nike bag). Total queue time about 3 hours later we got through to the huuuuugeee throne room. It was magnificent, huge, grand, totally awe inspiring. Darshan was quick.. police were marshalling people out at breakneck speed and yet more and more people just poured in. Also what struck me as odd was that there were TV screens all over the place which were supposed to broadcast live scenes from Abhishek in the throne room (no not the Butt-Chun variety!!) but I guess they were running the same recording over and over again!!
It was funny to notice people falling like nine pins in that huge hall before HIS mighty throne while the guards were shooing them out almost simultaneously. Guards were not entirely fiendish though... I saw them escort an old lady in the crowd for a darshan..Sweet and sour perhaps!!
The whole complex was done in a lovely serene cool way like most of the ashrams I have been ..lots of open spaces, little temples surrounding the main hall..book shops and a museum
for old baba relics.
Technology enabled you to give donations via a credit/debit (VISA) card as well which was a first for me. All you need to do is tell the guy how much you want to donate and he would swipe your card and give you give you a reciept. But this temple was not the place where baba lived. His house was an old mosque which we visited later. I immediately fell in love with that place. One open hall and a side room where the eternal fire was burning. A sack of grain replaced around navratri/dussehra time and a stone grinder. Bucket, mugs .. his possessions were few and simple. The whole place vibrated of love and simplicity unlike the main temple throne room where I could feel crass commercialization, anger, irritation and lots of negativity in the air :((.
There was one place women were not allowed to enter. The baba's sleeping/resting chambers or
some thing. It is funny how people (deemed custodians of culture) become childish when they grow up. Am sure baba would neither have stopped nor barricaded anyone from visiting him regardless of gender creed etc.
Next we hopped into a taxi for Shani Shignapur (I always called it Shani Singapore). Its about
2 hours from Shirdi. You may have to shell out Rs. 50-70 per head for Taxi. Another place where women were not allowed to do a proper darshan of Shani dev. And the hilarious part
being you had to take off all clothes (sorry only guys) and wear some flimsy dhoti, take a wet dip and pay him your respects in this dripping wetness (Roopa has photographic evidence.. damn her cell camera). God was represented by a nondescript stone where you would offer mustard
oil, some seeds, dhatura leaves etc... It was quite intriguing. BUT there was no way I would be stripping in front of these people. Perhaps will pay another quiet visit to this one with friends and get it over with.
If you are not already exhausted and fast asleep enroute Shani shignapur and back you get a visual treat of unspoilt countryside! The route to shirdi from Shani shignapur was full of Sugarcane and maize fields sporadically sprinkled with sugar refineries. Spectacular sights!!
We came back to hang out at Shirdi for a few more hours.While roaming around alone in the museum of baba's relics, I figured that he had the most definite handsome central asian looks; perhaps from Afganistan or farther. Nobody knows for sure where he came from but as far as I could decipher he was definitely quite tall, handsomely well built with sharp central Asian features.
The thing that offended me most was the missing Sanitation facility and eating joints. We were roaming around the place, sometimes even barefoot. The filth was always there in your face. There was an alarming absence of clean public loos. I did notice one restaurant owner screaming at a few ladies looking for a clean place to relieve themselves without buying his "Gujrati Thali". The Food joints were few and non descript. :((.. not a place for culinery delights.
Overall, go only for darshan and expect no more. Prepare to be disappointed with the warmth and hospitality of the place. Its not eaxctly a picnic site. BUT YOU WILL FIND PEACE AND HAPPINESS IF YOU KNOW WHERE TO LOOK FOR IT :D....
