Trip to Shirdi and Shani Shingnapur

Shirdi:

We left from Pune around eleven in the night. The total distance to Shirdi is approx 200 km. The roads for most of the part of the journey are very good. To our surprise the traffic was also thin that night. We reached Shirdi at three a.m, which was a good one hour earlier than what we had expected.

After reaching, we checked into a hotel which was very near (walking distance) from the temple. We managed to get a triple sharing room for five hundred bucks. The room was neat and tidy with basic amenities. At around four we left for the temple and within minutes were in the long queue. At four-thirty the early morning aarti (kakad aarti) began. The aarti lasted for forty five minutes, which people in the queue were able to witness due to the live transmissions on the LCD TVs installed everywhere. After the aarti, the queue started moving at a snail’s pace.

By six, our turn finally arrived. We were ushered into the main hall and it was a serene sight. The idol of Sai baba was clad in saffron glittering clothes and the walls are covered in gold. The hall has photographs of people who were close friends and associates of Sai Baba. Before we could soak up the atmosphere, the guards on duty hurried us out. (It’s the same scene in every temple. You wait for hours in the queue but when it’s your turn, it’s over in a matter of seconds.) Once outside, we visited the other parts of the temple. There are samadhis of people who were close to Baba. There is another hall, where Baba used to stay, cook and pray.

Overall it was a pleasant experience and after having tea, we were all set to visit Shani Shingnapur.

Shani Shingnapur:

Shani Shingnapur is approximately fifty km. from Shirdi. We had breakfast (poha+tea) at a roadside dhaba on the way. Once we reached Shingnapur, we were amazed by the number of shops that were selling aarti thalis. Lord Shani is supposedly a very sensitive God and people doing business on his name make sure that the God’ fear is used to their advantage. Our shopkeeper outlined a complicated process to get the maximum blessings out of Lord Shani and to save ourselves from his fury. He ended up charging us an exorbitant sum for the pooja thali and services. We were made to wear a saffron dhoti and take bath before entering the temple (females are not allowed near the Shani idol, though they are allowed inside the temple). Once inside we religiously followed the steps outlined by our shopkeeper and the whole process was over in a matter of minutes. Though I found the temple very serene and peaceful, it was relief to be outside, away from the God of fury.

After a quick change of clothes, we started our journey back to Pune which took roughly three hours.