Thaindian News

Puttaparthi (Andhra Pradesh), April 26 (IANS) As in life, so in death, spiritual leader Sathya Sai Baba has been drawing thousands of people from across the country and abroad for a last glimpse of his mortal remains lying in state at Prashanti Nilayam here.

“Over 300,000 people from all over the country and abroad have come here to see Sathya Sai since Sunday evening. Though the body was originally to be kept for public viewing till 6 p.m., we extended it till midnight as thousands are still pouring into the town,” Sri Sathya Sai Trust member N. Chalapathi Rao told IANS here Tuesday.

People of Puttaparthi, about 150 km from Bangalore, who have been used to a few thousand devotees thronging the sleepy town during Baba’s five-day birthday celebrations in November every year, never saw such a massive turnout of devotees from as far as Gujarat, Bengal, Bihar, Delhi and even from Nepal and Sri Lanka.

“This is the first time I am seeing over a lakh people, including women and children, arriving in the town on a single day since Sunday,” Sai Niwas hotel manager S. Laskhminarasimha told IANS.

“This despite having to walk about five kilometres to reach the venue and stand in two-mile long queues for a glimpse of the guru in the Nilayam,” he wondered.

Murali Krishnan, 34, an engineer from Madurai in Tamil Nadu, was in tears as he stood in the queue, still half a kilometre from the entrance gate of the ashram.

“It is by Baba’s grace that I was able to come here at a short notice from far way, enduring all hardships of travel by train and bus and without proper food or rest. I never had a chance to see Baba earlier and all I wanted was at least to see his body for the first and last time,” he said.

The atmosphere in the ornate hall where Baba lay in state has been subdued by soothing devotional songs.

“Though Baba’s death has been sadly inevitable, it has not been shocking as information about his slowly deteriorating health reduced the impact of a sudden death. Over the days, the pain of losing him has sunk in and we have been mentally preparing for the worst,” lamented Chandravati, a lady volunteer of Sai Seva Dal.