Shirdi

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This city of Maharashtra was a home to Sai Baba, and now to his devotees.

Shirdi is a town in Maharashtra that sees the footfall of thousands of devotees every day. It is the home of the respected spiritual leader Sai Baba, who was said to be an incarnation of God on Earth. The main gathering is at the Shirdi Sai Baba Temple Complex, but the sightseeing includes numerous other sites that are famous for their association with Sai Baba in some way.

Shirdi celebrates all the festivals with great enthusiasm, but among these celebrations, three marking with special arrangements: Ramnavmi, Guru Purnima, and Vijayadashmi. On these occasions, many cultural programs, bhajans, special rituals are arranged and celebrated throughout the night.

Other than being a religious place, Shirdi is also known for being the country's largest exporter of guava, grapes, and pomegranates. So do not miss picking some fresh fruits!

Historical Background:

Significantly famous for Sai Temple, Sai Baba lived a substantial part of his life here in Shirdi. Unfortunately, he passed away in 1918 when Shirdi was a part of the Bombay Presidency in British India. Since then, the place has held great importance among the people.

Unknown Facts:

The backbone of Shirdi's economy, the Sai Baba temple build in 1922, was commissioned and privately owned by one of the millionaires in Nagpur, Shrimant Gopalrao. He was a devotee of Sai. Now the temple is under Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust.
Another millionaire devotee of Sai donated 110 crores to the temple. The co-founder of NASSCOM, KV Ramani. He presented the amount to the trust to build the ashram for the believers.
According to the 2011 census, the average literacy rate is 59.5 percent. In comparison, the average literacy rate of Shirdi is 70 percent, with male and female literacy at 76 and 62 percent, respectively.

Things to do and Major attractions:

Usually, the best places to visit in Shirdi comprise of religious sites. Amongst the temples and shrines in this region, the most important is the Shri Sai Baba Sansthan Temple. The temple has extensive facilities involving darshans to donations to Prasad. Samadhi Mandir and Gurusthan are also of great interest to the tourist. The Gurusthan is believed to be the place where Sai Baba was seen for the first time in the world. Dwarkamai is another popular tourist attraction because of the amount of time that Sai Baba spent here.

Some other notable places of interest in this city include the Upasani Maharaj Ashram, Khandoba Mandir, and Abdul Baba Cottage. One of the unique attractions in Shirdi is the Shani Shingnapur, where the villagers have no doors to their shops and houses and believe that Lord Shaneshwar is always protecting them.

You can also visit places such as the Lendi Baug that is a beautiful and well-maintained garden. Tourists also stop by the Dixit Wada Museum, where some vintage pictures of Sai Baba are preserved. Finally, if you have kids along with you and they are bored with the numerous visits to the religious sites, take them to the Wet n Joy Waterpark for a fun-filled evening.

Also, read about the most popular Ashrams in India here.

People and Culture:

The town is sprinkled with the fragrance of spirituality and religiousness.

Tourism is the mainstay of this sacred town, and thus they are warm and welcoming. The locals are religious and somewhat traditional in their lifestyle. They speak Marathi and Hindi languages.

Shirdi was a small village belonging to the people of the Marathi community until the migrants from Andhra Pradesh started settling in the city, contributing to 10 percent of the total population.

Local Food and Popular Shopping Items:

The place is loved by those who have a sweet tooth because of the delicious laddoos that are used as Prasad. Besides this, the region serves Gujarati and Maharashtrian delicacies in most of the restaurants. For a fancy multi-cuisine meal, we recommend that you head towards the Blue Coriander. However, most places here serve vegetarian food.

Usually, a visit to Shirdi is incomplete without you bringing back the souvenirs, images, and idols of Sai Baba. There are hundreds of shops and vendors selling these at the marketplace, and you can get these back as gifts.

Best Time to Visit:

One can plan a visit to Shirdi throughout the year. However, the ideal time to visit Shirdi is during the winter and monsoon months escaping the scorching sun. So, plan your trip between June to September and October to February.

Few tips for temple visitors:

Thursday is the most crowded day, so avoid visiting on this day if possible.
Wheelchair assistance is free of cost and is available at Gate 5.
There isn't any rule of clothing while visiting the temple, but be in decent clothes.
You can only carry flowers for the deity. Any other material will be presented in the ritual and returned to you.
You will have to wait in the darshan queue for approximately three hours. Hence it is advisable to carry lots of water. Also, since the place is crowded, take care of your belongings.

Availability of Accommodation Type:

With tourists coming in all through the year, there is no shortage of living options in Shirdi. You can stay put at the Tania President Inn or Sai Neem Tree Hotel. While these are some more luxurious options, there are economical stays available as well, such as Hotel Yogiraj and other such cheaper hotels.

Surround yourself in this holy ambiance and thousands of Sai devotees at least once to experience the pure magic!

HOW TO REACH

How to reach By Air:
Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj Airport of Aurangabad is the nearest airport to reach Shirdi, with a distance of 127 km. There are flights on daily basis from cities like Pune, Mumbai, Banglore. Further, you can take a cab or a taxi.

How to reach By Road:
Shirdi is well-connected with a good network of roads from cities in Maharashtra like Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Akluj, Nagpur Aurangabad, and Nashik. In addition, many private companies operate buses between cities like Banglore and Hyderabad, but the journey takes around 20hours.

How to reach By Railways:
Shirdi has its own railway station named Sainagar Shirdi Railway Station, which connects to major cities of Maharashtra like Pune, Mumbai, Nagpur, and the cities like Kanpur, Banglore, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh.