Maharashtra is a state filled with rustic landscapes and cities. It houses one of my favourite cities at its heart, the one that exudes peace and divinity, a place that is bound to liberate you from all sorts of stress – Shirdi. This location gained popularity as it was the abode of Sadguru Sai Baba, a highly respected saint who spent his life preaching and teaching.
We travel to Shirdi every year by hiring a reliable Pune to Shirdi taxi with a local driver. Shirdi is approximately 4 hours away from Pune, covering a distance of 180 km, and we usually prefer the route that goes via NH60. Whenever we travel, we find the city flooded with tourists, where most of them are devotees of Sai Baba from around the world, who are free to worship without any fear of discrimination. That adds to Shirdi’s beauty, making it one of my favourite pilgrimage destinations!
Highlights of Shirdi
We travel to Shirdi to enjoy its rustic nature and gentle humdrum, which we lack in major metropolitan cities. Right off the bat, we go to the most popular stop in Shirdi, the Sai Baba Temple. We go according to our regular tradition: first pay our respects at the Samadhi Mandir where the main idol is situated. Devotees keep humming their bhajans and praising the Sadguru. Next, we head to the museum housing Sai Baba’s belongings. Here, each item is labelled and is associated with a story related to his life! We also attend the aartis or prayer sessions, held by the temple at fixed time intervals from 4 AM up until 10:45 PM.
Next, we go to places of rest and peace: the Dwarakamaii and the Chawdi. Dwarakamaii is a mosque where Baba spent much of his time, and the Chawdi is an area for meditation or to simply rest. Going to these places gives me, and I believe other fellow visitors, a sense of peace so powerful that we don’t have the heart to leave.
The temple authorities at the Shirdi temple organize accommodations and free food at Prasadalaya for all their devotees. Prasadalaya utilizes solar panels; this touch of renewable resource usage is commendable!
Shopping and Food in Shirdi
After spending the day in divinity, we wander around the locality of the temple, where we get loads of handmade items and gifts at affordable prices, so I always pick out a souvenir from there! The restaurants over there have a wide variety of dishes taken from Gujarati, Maharashtrians and South Indian cuisines. I can never leave Shirdi without grabbing a bite from Rajdhani Restaurant! The food is amazing and will leave you wanting more!
Apart from the Sai Baba temple, we also visit the Khandoba temple of Lord Shiva. We like going to Shingnapur as well, a unique village where no one locks their houses or temples. It lies an hour away from Shirdi and houses the Shani Shingnapur temple, devoted to Lord Shani. These small locations are filled with unique stories, attracting curious visitors like us!
We travel to Shirdi for the temple, but we are enriched even more by the people and the mix of cultures we see existing in harmony, without discrimination. Therefore, explore the city with the help of an affordable car rental service, so that you leave the driving to them and just concentrate on the exploration, yourself!
