Why Shirdi and Trimbakeshwar should be on your temple trip list

It was a four-day weekend; typically, I would have loved to lounge at home. But I agreed to be a part of a trip to Shirdi and Trimbakeshwar, the former I have a hazy memory of and the latter, I have only read about in Geography textbooks.

The four-hour drive was long and the sun was shimmering. We finally arrived in Shirdi at 2.30 pm. As soon as our car enters the temple town, I find everything around named after Sai Baba—Sai Academy, Sai Housing Society, Sai Veg. Restaurant...Soon, we were at the Keys Hotel Temple Tree, a three-month old three-star property. We were welcomed with the traditional tikka and a huge glass of Virgin Lemon Mojito, which was oh-so-refreshing. Located in proximity to the Sai Baba temple complex, the 87-room hotel is not just a hotel, it is a resort, an affordable luxury. The hotel also offers a wide range of business services, making it ideal for pilgrims and business travellers alike. It is the only hotel in Shirdi which offers rooms specially designed to the needs of the differently abled and single women.
We were clearly running an hour behind schedule, as per the itinerary. But first things first—a traditional sumptuous Maharashtrian lunch was awaiting us—sol kadhi, kothambir wadi, wangyachi kaap, koshimbir, matki chi sukhi usal, baingan bharta, batatyacha bhaji, puri, bhakri, shrikhand and rabdi with gulab jamun.

History: Fact vs. Fiction
Soon, we set out for the reason we were in Shirdi, to visit the Sai Baba Temple and other religious places associated with Baba. We were accompanied by two guides- Omprakash Pandey and Prem.
Just like Tuesdays is associated with Lord Ganesh, Thursdays is considered as the day of Sai Baba. Being a curious cat, I asked them, “Why Thursday?” To which Prem replied, “Baba attained samadhi on Thursday”, and Omprakash said, “It is believed that many years ago, some people saw Baba's form in the temple, on a Thursday”. And I wonder, why do we twist history based on facts that we don't know. I am not questioning the importance of Thursday, but I have observed that facts related to temples are varying more often than not, depending on the 'expert'.  

The Lord and his Devotees
As is the case in most temples, here too, you cannot take mobile phones, shoes and cameras inside the temple premises. Lockers are available at the entrance of the temple complex to keep your valuable belongings at a price. You can also keep your shoes in the shoe-racks, for a small amount.  
As we entered the temple complex, I felt a strange sense of disconnect—disconnect from the noise, from the crowds, the hustle and bustle. And this was unusual, because claustrophobia has been a long-standing friend. Luckily, for us, the hotel staff had arranged special passes, which meant no standing in serpentine queues. But special passes can be booked online or bought inside the complex for a quick darshan.
While we walked through the special entrance lane, I watched huge crowds waiting under the hot sun to get one glimpse of their Lord. They were different from us, I thought to myself, not because they stood in the regular line, but because a lot of them had walked to Shirdi from their hometowns—be it Mumbai, Pune, Nashik. “Walking from Mumbai to Shirdi takes about 10-15 days,” Omprakash informs me. To me, they were a font of determination.

We were surrounded by chants of 'Sai Baba ki Jai'; devotees from different castes, communities were here to offer their prayers and respect. “You have come to the temple at the most auspicious time of the year,” Omprakash tells me. “Baba's punyatithi falls on the day of Dussehra, so people from all around the country visit the temple. Tomorrow, the crowd here will be double,” he adds.

Inside the Temple Complex
Soon, I see before me a life-size white marble sculpture of Baba, draped with a beautiful blue silk robe. Seated below a gold-plated crown, his face is a picture of calm and peace, just as he was believed to be, back in the days. Time is a luxury in most places of worship, I have been to. We got about two minutes to look at Baba, thank him for all his grace and of course, as is normal human tendency, ask him to grant other wishes on the list.
After the darshan, we visited the museum which houses Baba's belongings—the bed on which he breathed his last, his white kurta, his jhola, pictures of him with his devotees. We walked around the Neem tree, which is believed to be Baba's meditation spot. “Legend goes that the leaves of this tree offered shelter to Baba from the harsh sun, and the leaves now have a sweet taste due to his blessings,” Prem tells us. Unfortunately, this story can't be put to test as the tree is surrounded by a humongous iron mesh. The leaves never fall outside it.
Our next stop was Shree Chawadi, where Baba used to sleep. The Chawadi is divided into two parts—the left is for women and the right only for men. We then walked to towards Dwarka Mai, a mosque where Baba lived and cooked for everyone. It is considered very sacred among his devotees.
We then headed to Khandoba temple, which is a five-minute drive from the main shrine. “When Baba placed his first step in this temple, the residing priest called out to him, 'Aao Sai', and that's how he came to be known as Sai Baba. No one knows his real name,” shares Omprakash. And on that note, we head back to the hotel contemplating the recent uproar questioning Sai Baba's caste. But last evening, one of the leading national Hindi news channels carried a story on how the Shirdi Temple had collected Rs. 4 crore and 12 lakhs in donation. Faith, I guess, is above religion.

A view of one of the rooms at Keys Hotel

Tea Talk
Back in the hotel, it's time for high-tea. Accompanied by the hotel manager, Satyajit Kotwal, we sit out in the lawn and chat with him about the hotel. “The hotel has four rooms designed specifically for single women and so far, we've had two single women stay with us,” he tells me, adding “there is a video call feature in these rooms. So the guest can view who's waiting at the door. Also, we have our own processes—the single women rooms are on the first floor, an attendant visits the floor every hour to check for any notorious activity, I keep note of the guest's contact number and the number of the vehicle she's travelling in.”
As we chat more, it's time for dinner. And we are told, besides the buffet, a special Maharastrian dinner is being prepared for us. The Keys Cafe is a multi-cuisine vegetarian restaurant. “Chef Sandeep knows how to delight meat-eating guests with finger-licking vegetarian delicacies,” said one of the group members (who is a hardcore non-vegetarian). After feasting on lemon coriander soup, aloochi wadi, moong dal bhajiya, bharli wangi, sev bhaji, beetroot rissoto with kurkuri bhindi and a bowl of caramelised banana toffy with butterscotch ice-cream, it was time to call it a day!

Karma Cleaner
We woke up to a lovely Dussera morning—a 6 am walk on the open-air lawn, watching the crimson sun rise over open green fields and praying to the Lord to kill the evil within us and let only goodness prevail. Day 2 was a trip to Trimbakeshwar temple. The route to Trimbakeshwar is dotted with sugarcane fields and tiny villages, where life, to the naked eye, seems devoid of urban-lifestyle concerns. The locals look fitter and stronger than any gym-freak I know. 36 km from the city of Nashik, the town of Trimbak is known to be the origin of the Godavari river. The temple lies at the foothills of Brahmagiri mountain; it is revered as one of the 12 Jyotirlinga shrines of Lord Shiva.  After a four-hour drive, when we arrived at the temple, it was beaming with devotees who didn't care about the blazing sun. The walk up to the temple from the car park area is about 10 minutes. Once we reached the main entrance, we asked around for special darshan tickets as the regular queue would take about 2 to 3 hours to get a sneak peak of the 'linga'. 200 bucks/person and we were off for our darshan. It was quicker than I expected, considering it was also Dussera.
The fascinating feature of the Jyotirlinga in this temple constructed in black stones is: the linga has three faces symbolizing Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva. We are told that the Jyotirlinga is covered by a jewelled crown, which is placed over the golden mask of the three gods. The crown, it is believed, dates back to the times of Pandavas, but it is displayed to the devotees only on Mondays from 4pm to 5pm.

Devotees from far and wide visit this temple to perform pujas for various reasons. A quick search on Google will give you the reasons: The puja is performed for many reasons like to cure an illness, going through bad times, killing a Cobra (Nag), childless couples, financial crisis or you want to perform some religious puja to have a peaceful and happy life to you and your family members.

“The temple is considered to be Karma Cleaner,” one of the group members tells me. On that note, after gulping down a chilled glass of fresh sugarcane juice, I secretly hope my visit to the temple does wash away all my karma.