By Shobha Rao Smilemaker

Feb 26: As an avid traveller across our wonderful country, I generally avoid going again to the same town....but there is one place that I love to visit repeatedly and that is the holy pilgrim centre called Shirdi in Maharashtra. The remains of the patron saint Saibaba from his grave keep calling me and I get an intense urge to visit him, as if he was my thrilling lover!

This visit to Shirdi was unique as I saw the coins from his time. Our darshan procedure was seamless and filled me with a feeling of calmness. I spent time inside the temple complex, visiting the other temples, the samadhis, the book store, the cloth store and just soaking in the spiritual energy of this unique place!

I read the Satcharita book often and knew a story about how Bayajabai used to feed Sai baba often and how her son Tatya Kote Patil got severely sick and was about to die, instead Saibaba got sick and died on October 12, 1918. Tatya Kote Patil died much later 12th March 1945 and his family used to regularly send food to the Mandir as the noon prasad. This practice was continued but his son Bajirao, his grandson Mukund and his great grandson Milind Kote Patil too. We were lucky to meet Milind who took us to his home and showed us the pouch and the 4 coins that Saibaba gave the family which is still worshiped centuries later with due respect.

We also visited the shrine of Laxmi Bai Shinde and saw the nine coins that Saibaba gave her just before he died. We visited Dwarkamai, Chavadi and Haji Abdul baba's cottage too. We just had to purchase guavas, raisins and eat authentic Maharashtrian food like Misal Pav and Sabudana kitchdi at one of the many eateries that have come up here.

We also got to see the pallaki seve and Sai bhajan of a nearby smaller temple. We drove 10 kilometres to see a local celebration of a new Shiva temple too.

After a long time, we witnessed a really relaxed darshan day at Shirdi with a smile. Wow India.

Shobha Rao Smilemaker has a vision of living in a world where people use their ability to find and make smiles in any situation. She is a lawyer by qualification, a soft skills trainer by passion, a motivational speaker, a freelance journalist, a bestselling author, an avid traveler and founder of 'Smilemakers Trainings'. She can be contacted at www.shobhasmilemaker.com.