A review on Puttaparthi
Written on: 19-Feb-2001
Pros: Serene atmosphere, idyllic lifestyle.
Cons: Weather is hot and dry.
Come let's travel on a UFO.
View from 1000 miles: Azure oceans, brown¬white continents, lots of puffs of white clouds. Zoom In: South asia. The triangle jutting out into the ocean very prominently cut off from the rest of the mainland by streaks of white - the Himalayas.
Zoom In: South India - Green ghats on the two shores, a mountain range cutting it from the north. In the centre is a huge plateau - mostly dry / semi-arid.
Zoom In: South-Central India. Rayala Seema region of Andhra Pradesh. Bone-dry, rocky hillocks as far as the eye can see.
Zoom In: Large, lush green lawns. Picture¬perfect pink and yellow buildings. Calm, serene, smiling people mostly wearing simple white cotton dresses. About a third of them much fairer than the rest. No un-met wants here as far as the socio-economic eye can see. No confused/wandering minds as far as the philosophical eye can see.
Surely there is a mistake here. This is not possible. It's not logical.
We repeat the Zoom-In steps above. Results: Ditto.
We zoom in further onto a name-plate. It reads: Puttaparthi. That explains it. It's the Baba's abode, aye it is. Even our ET-colleagues in the UFO seem to have heard of him.
But first things first. The drive from Bangalore - 157 kms. National Highway no. 7. Drive past Yelahanka. Chikballapur. Bagepalli. (Now you are in AP.) Koduru. Here take a right and cruise on to Gorantla, the last town before Puttaparthi. The road - excellent. I reached 140 kmph at least half-a-dozen times. Cruising along at 110 - 120 kmph seems to be the norm. Just a small inconvenience: The 43 km Koduru - Puttaparthi stretch is single-lane. But the surface is excellent.
And then you enter the picture-perfect concept-town of Puttaparthi. You drive past the HUGE buildings of the Medical Institution, the music-theatre (shaped like a huge drum and tabla), the Sai Baba Museum, the Sai Baba Institute of Higher Medical Sciences, etc. Then you reach the sanctum-sanctorum of the Baba universe, the Prashanthi-Nilayam.
Getting an acco is a breeze. Just be sure to reach there around 9 - 930 in the morning. Three canteens are waiting to serve you excellent Foreign, Punjabi and South-Indian fare. Cost: cost price. Just 1/2/3 rupees per item. But don't expect food to be available at all times. The canteens are open strictly during lunch and dinner hours only. (The town though has lots of restaurants from Lhasa to Nigerian.)
Take along lots of simple white cotton clothes. I felt naked in the crowd there in my denim jacket and jeans - what with all my materialistic leanings thus laid bare.
Baba's Darshan is at 6:45 am and 3:45 pm. Be prepared to be there at least 3 hours in advance if you want to get real close. And practise those ground-squatting asanas - I actually "got in touch with my innermost self" squatting like that for 3 hours!!
A must-see in Puttaparthi is the Sai Baba Museum, located behind the stadium. This chronicles everything from the earliest period of Baba's life to the latest. Here there are mini¬theatres explaining Baba's philosophy. I counted at least 25 Sony 34" Flat Screen TV - Sony DVD sets, each one worth at least 1.25 lakhs rupees!! (Oh! The die-hard materialist in me!)
This brings me to my last topic: The controversy surrounding the Baba, his philosophy and his activities. I felt it finally just boils down to whether you believe in miracles or not. His whole fame is based on his miracles. If you consider this immaterial in light of the stupendous social-service projects undertaken by Saba, then you hit another roadblock on the way to complete acceptance of Saba and his activities: Would you lie to Paul to make him give you his money, so that you can give it to poor Peter, and earn a livelihood for yourself and your people in the bargain? You are entitled to your own views here.
Would you recommend this place to your friend?: Yes
How much did it cost per person per day?: Less than Rs. 1000
Nature of your travel: Weekend travel
Ideal time to visit: March-May
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