A Visit to Shirdi,left me spellbound !!

This time my family and i visited,Saibaba Samadhi Mandir,Shirdi, from 6th November 2013. Reached there by Tour Operator Bus on 6-11-13 at 7:30pm checked into nearby hotel. Then went to see if Darshan pass is available. There was lot of queue at the Dwarkamai Yatri Niwas Darshan Counter.When my turn came after 5minutes,as luck would have it and it was deemed as per local folklore that,"Whatever happens in Shirdi,its due to the wishes and goodness of Saibaba,even now." So, the computer server was down,and showed no signs of recoup despite I remained at counter for almost another 5-minutes,enquiring,requesting for even a late night Darshan Pass. It was Wednesday, on the 6thNovember, and the next day was Thursday. Finally, even the counter clerk saw that the system would not pickup online server signals. I and my wife Sampada,were in dejected-rejected state. I immediately chanted,"Om Sairam,Baba please help,show us the way(not loudly but in my intensesive yearning in the heart and mind)." Immediately, the counter clerk,suggested that i come tomorrow at the Old Prasad Counter side, the next morning, and something will surely be done. We thanked Saibaba in our hearts and left the counter.

Next day, at 4am, we were almost awake; then by 5pm we all had finished bathing, and came out to the Old Prasad Counter side,as told where there was a PRO Office. I had taken all my Id-cards,i.e.Pancard,Election Card,Aadhaar Card,etc. The Staff opened office, at 8:45am, outside the office was the Lockers for Mobile Phones and Chappals Stand,Canteen; and every inch of the compound seemed buzzing with people of all ages and avocations,just like an anthole or beehive buzzes with activity. My turn came in the line,and the Police-hawaldar sent me inside the office,it was 09:30 am now; and the counter clerk briskly asked where i came from, what was my profession, how many members were with me,3adults2Kids. Pass was issued,with his sign,and how happy i was to clutch it as if i had just got attention from Saibaba. The words from the film,(Shirdi Ke Saibaba) echoed in my mind,"Whoever comes into Shirdi, all his troubles are mine, I shall take care of him, and let all his wishes come to fruition." Wow !! even after 100 years of his passing away,the land of Shirdi is truly blessed and all those who come here, the moment they step inside any of Shirdi Saibaba Sansthan premises, their needs are automatically blessed with a certainty in orderly queuing that darshan will truly happen,despite that challenge of overcrowding each day. Especially, i was told that there is an addition of the local Shirdi crowd too on every Thursdays.

We moved in a smaller queue and in 10minutes got darshan near the Saibaba Samadhi. But, due to crowd management by the Shirdi Police Hawaldars, every one was pushed pommeled each second backwards, when we moved a little back without removing our gaze from the magnificience of Saibaba Murti, interspersed with crowd cries of,"Shri Sainath Maharaj Ki Jai,"and were atleast back by 50 foot distance, we stood there admiring at Saibaba, thanking him, with our hearts and joined hands, some were sprawling on the ground and paying their respects in a,"Dandavat Mudra" or lying on belly with hands joined in front headlong. This routine keeps repeating, as more pour in, but never have i seen anybody falling onto anyone nor is there any stampede,despite such horrendous rush Thursdays sees. Satisfied from Samadhi Mandir, we came out to see the Neem Tree or "Guru Sthan", then Dhuni place, then went to see the Sai Museum in Dikshit Wada constructed in old ground + First floor styled housing. It is so awesome that more than 100 years, not a stone has come out from the largely stone-walled temple premises. Each stone was so uniquely filled with god alone knows whiting in the joint that its as fresh as if it was just made yesterday. Come to think of all the news we read daily,in contrast, in the newspapers that so-and-so building collapsed in Mumbai city; it made me think that we have started a race for the skies and keep on creating skyscraper societies; that we are forgetting to develop the town-areas too.Builders are vying each other in big-budget citadels creations, towering society's,plushier Gym-Swim-Health Club amenities,Beauty Centers,Shopping Malls, that we are forgeting Eco-system based planning.

One should see, how peacefully intertwined Saidham Shopping Mall stands nextdoor to the temple, and modernity in construction is seen upto 4-floors only therewith as due care has been taken not to introduce a Mall with 10-floors amenities,and each shop within reverberates with artefacts,books,amulets,trinklets, dedicated to Sai image replica in it. We see pavement local Sai-murti,photos,sellers,as also Rose flower bunch sellers. I was surprised to get a whole bunch of fresh plump roses (five roses) for total Rs.20/- whereas in Mumbai, I would have had to pay close to Rs.120/- for that quality bunch. Food in the local stalls is both fast food,Punjabi,Chinese,etc..Shirdi Food Stalls and Hotels too have brought in modernity of the Mumbai city in variety and array of fast foods served. Its tougher competition, nowadays, said one stall owner by the roadside selling Chinese Manchurian Veggies,"Chinees Fied Race" read one foodstall sign. Personally, I would advise, if you are travelling with your friends or family of 5 people, and like South Indian vegetarian fare, there is aplenty in big hotels,which have pricing at par to local Mumbai restaurants.

After roaming, the Lendi Baug,Nanda Deep,Parayan Room (Meant for Silent Reading only Sai-Texts),and other places in the premises, we came out to see the rest of  Shirdi till evening 5pm. There was a tumultous crowd after we left at 12 Noon, and the lines winding like snakes crawling on the roadsides.Bus traffic has increased by fourfold. we moved to hotel satisfied after a brief shopping at the Mall.

 Om Sai Ram, may all those who read this be blessed with a darshan too.