Shirdi

Shirdi is the abode of the renowned sage Shirdi Sai Baba. Located in the Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra, it is close to the holy city of Nasik. This small town is mystical and attracts several visitors throughout the year. It is fine to visit Shridi at anytime through the year, although monsoon (June to August) is said to be the best time to visit simply because of the pleasant weather. The town looks beautiful and fresh during this time. The festive season is also a good time to plan a visit to Shirdi. Ramnavami (March / April), Guru Purnima (July) and Vijayadashami (October) are some of the major festivals that are celebrated with great grandeur and vigor here.

The prime attractions in Sirdi include

Samadhi Mandir: This temple was built in 1918 by Gopalrao, an ardent devotee of Sai Baba. It is the heart of this quaint town. It is also known as the Sai Baba temple. The entire temple has been built of stone and Babas samadhi is built of marble. There is a marvelous life size statue of Sai Baba seated on his throne, just behind the samadhi. It is made of Italian marble and looks astounding. Two silver pillars adorned with ornate designs stand in front of the samadhi. The front portion of the mandir has an assembly hall that can occupy up to 600 devotees and a museum that displays various things that were used by Sai Baba during his lifetime. There are 4 main aartis that take place in the temple every day. Generally it takes up to an hour in a queue for darshan. Some Thursdays it can take up to 3 to 4 hours as Thursday is a considered an auspicious day to visit the Sai Baba temple. It is a major tourist attraction.

Gurusthan: Outside the Samadhi Mandir is the Gurusthan. It is a small temple under a neem tree, where Sai Baba is said to have meditated.

Dwarkamai: This is a two storied building which is a mosque. Sai Baba is said to have stayed here most part of his life. There is a portrait of baba, some articles that were used by him and a stone that he sat on, in the temple. The highlight of the mosque is that the dhuni that was lit by Sai Baba in his times is still burning.

Chawadi: Baba and some of his followers used to spend every other night in the Chawadi.

The Maruti temple that baba often visited, Samadhi of Abdulbaba (An ardent devotee who used to read out the Quran to Baba), Dixit Wada museum and Lendi Baugh are other significant places in Sirdi.