An amazing fact of life is that the older you get, the more you turn to religion. People who sneer at faith healers when in the prime of their life, queue up outside these very same mendicants’ doors when seriously ill. Distance and time are taken out of the equation.
India has its share of faith healers and charlatans. The two biggest draws are both called Sai Babas, the term ‘Sai’ meaning Saint. One is the Sai Baba (deceased) of Shirdi, a village located approximately 300 km. East of Mumbai (Bombay). The other is the Sai Baba of Puttaparthi, now a prominent town in South-central India, who looks far younger than his age of 83. I will write about each Sai Baba and how to get to where the pilgrimage spots are in detail in subsequent blogs.
There is a third Baba, of whom very little is known. He has no recognizable name, just the Baba of Sank.He too performs miracles, like healing the moribund, the insane and the sick. He performs his miracles on only ONE night every year. This auspicious night is that of the first new moon in September. That night is less than two months away. On that night, thousands of devotees from all over the state throng his temple in the village of Sank, some 70 km. from Gwalior or 240 km. from Agra. It is not easy to reach the small village on a normal day, but, on the night of the miracles, the hordes of people thronging the route makes the task much easier. If you are planning to go there, remember to take some fruits with you or have your supper early. The water at the temple is safe, but you could take a bottle or two of mineral water along. Expect an 18-20 hour sleepless trip, but, believe me, sleep will be farthest from your mind.
There are two ways of getting to the Baba’s temple. Take an afternoon train from Delhi to Agra or Gwalior. The latter is preferable, as it is closer to the pilgrimage site. If traveling from Agra, which city everybody has heard about, hire a taxi for Morena. If the taxi driver is unsure of how to get there, tell him to take you towards Gwalior. An hour or so later, you will cross Dholpur, on the banks of the river Chambal. Another 20 minutes and you will see masses of people at a small railway station, Sank, on your left. Cross over and simply follow the crowd. The road is bad, but not dusty. 10 km. and an hour later and you would have reached. Gwalior taxi drivers know the route and you have an hour’s drive to get to Sank. En route, you will cross a small town called Morena. Continue to Sank, now on your right and again, just follow the crowd all the way to the temple. You could well be number 2,500 in the winding queue, with thousands behind you.
The Baba comes out of his temple close to midnight. He squats on a coir mat and village drummers start to beat their drums. I have been very close to the Baba and seen first hand what transpires. He goes into a deep reverie and bursts out of it like a maniac. He then calls for those waiting for him and sees them in small groups of five or six. He recites some strange incantation, which, as he once told me, was first used by the Goddess Kunti at that very temple circa 2500 BC. Often, he picks up a feather duster made of peacock tails and cleans the odd devotee. His trance lasts for almost half an hour and when he comes out of it, he moves back into the temple. He normally returns in ten minutes, chatting freely till the drums begin again. This cycle goes on till dawn. Unusually enough, nobody goes back without a ‘darshan’ (meeting) of the Baba. I will be posting a blog about Goddess Kunti soon.
If you are keen on visiting the Baba, get ready now. There aren't many days left. Returning from the temple is easy and getting back to Delhi is not too much of a problem, with a large number of trains in the early morning hours.
India has its share of faith healers and charlatans. The two biggest draws are both called Sai Babas, the term ‘Sai’ meaning Saint. One is the Sai Baba (deceased) of Shirdi, a village located approximately 300 km. East of Mumbai (Bombay). The other is the Sai Baba of Puttaparthi, now a prominent town in South-central India, who looks far younger than his age of 83. I will write about each Sai Baba and how to get to where the pilgrimage spots are in detail in subsequent blogs.
There is a third Baba, of whom very little is known. He has no recognizable name, just the Baba of Sank.He too performs miracles, like healing the moribund, the insane and the sick. He performs his miracles on only ONE night every year. This auspicious night is that of the first new moon in September. That night is less than two months away. On that night, thousands of devotees from all over the state throng his temple in the village of Sank, some 70 km. from Gwalior or 240 km. from Agra. It is not easy to reach the small village on a normal day, but, on the night of the miracles, the hordes of people thronging the route makes the task much easier. If you are planning to go there, remember to take some fruits with you or have your supper early. The water at the temple is safe, but you could take a bottle or two of mineral water along. Expect an 18-20 hour sleepless trip, but, believe me, sleep will be farthest from your mind.
There are two ways of getting to the Baba’s temple. Take an afternoon train from Delhi to Agra or Gwalior. The latter is preferable, as it is closer to the pilgrimage site. If traveling from Agra, which city everybody has heard about, hire a taxi for Morena. If the taxi driver is unsure of how to get there, tell him to take you towards Gwalior. An hour or so later, you will cross Dholpur, on the banks of the river Chambal. Another 20 minutes and you will see masses of people at a small railway station, Sank, on your left. Cross over and simply follow the crowd. The road is bad, but not dusty. 10 km. and an hour later and you would have reached. Gwalior taxi drivers know the route and you have an hour’s drive to get to Sank. En route, you will cross a small town called Morena. Continue to Sank, now on your right and again, just follow the crowd all the way to the temple. You could well be number 2,500 in the winding queue, with thousands behind you.
The Baba comes out of his temple close to midnight. He squats on a coir mat and village drummers start to beat their drums. I have been very close to the Baba and seen first hand what transpires. He goes into a deep reverie and bursts out of it like a maniac. He then calls for those waiting for him and sees them in small groups of five or six. He recites some strange incantation, which, as he once told me, was first used by the Goddess Kunti at that very temple circa 2500 BC. Often, he picks up a feather duster made of peacock tails and cleans the odd devotee. His trance lasts for almost half an hour and when he comes out of it, he moves back into the temple. He normally returns in ten minutes, chatting freely till the drums begin again. This cycle goes on till dawn. Unusually enough, nobody goes back without a ‘darshan’ (meeting) of the Baba. I will be posting a blog about Goddess Kunti soon.
If you are keen on visiting the Baba, get ready now. There aren't many days left. Returning from the temple is easy and getting back to Delhi is not too much of a problem, with a large number of trains in the early morning hours.
