Temple will be going places to celebrate Palkhi centenary
Written By
Vaishali Balajiwale
| Updated:
This is the first time such devotee gatherings will be held outside Maharashtra, informed Ashok Khambekar, trustee.
To commemorate the centenary of the weekly tradition of the Shri Saibaba palkhi (ceremonial procession) from Dwarkamai temple to the Chavadi (city gate) in Shirdi every Thursday, the Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust plans to organise a Sai Bhakt Sammelan in Panaji, Lucknow and Kolkata over the next two months.
This is the first time such devotee gatherings will be held outside Maharashtra, informed Ashok Khambekar, trustee. The gathering in Panji, Goa will be held on February 22, at the Dayananad Bandodkar stadium, and will be inaugurated by chief minister Digambar Kamat.
The day-long programme will see the invocation of the paduka, aarti, bhajan, darshan, meals as prasad and palkhi. Stationery and books will also be available at the venue, informed Khambekar. Devotees Vivek Parsekar and Ravi Naidu from Goa are helping the trust organise the gathering.
Similar programmes will be held in Lucknow on March 1 and Kolkata on March 8.
Khambekar also stated that the trust shortlisted places like Raipur, Bangalore, Baroda, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and New Delhi, where such programmes will be held in the near future. Among the destinations abroad the trust is thinking of Tanzania in Africa and Sydney in Australia to hold the devotee gatherings, dates for which will be decided soon.
The trust has decided to open information centres at four places in the country — New Delhi, Secunderabad, Chennai, and Bangalore. These centres will be connection points to Shirdi and people will be able to access information on days to visit, programmes, books, literature, stationary, transportation, train and bus timings, and bookings for bhakt niwas - the lodging arrangements at Shirdi.
In New Delhi, the centre will function from the Maharashtra Parichaya Kendra building and the Shri Saibaba Sansthan has spent Rs30 lakh to make the centre functional.
The trust has also secured an assurance from the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh to make land available to the Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust at Tirumalla, to build a guesthouse for devotees going to Tirupati from Maharashtra. Soon, this project will also be undertaken, Khambekar said.
The trustee added that the Sixth Pay Commission and all facilities have been implemented for the 4,000 employees of the Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust. The trust employees an additional force of 2,000 employees on daily-wage basis.
This is the first time such devotee gatherings will be held outside Maharashtra, informed Ashok Khambekar, trustee. The gathering in Panji, Goa will be held on February 22, at the Dayananad Bandodkar stadium, and will be inaugurated by chief minister Digambar Kamat.
The day-long programme will see the invocation of the paduka, aarti, bhajan, darshan, meals as prasad and palkhi. Stationery and books will also be available at the venue, informed Khambekar. Devotees Vivek Parsekar and Ravi Naidu from Goa are helping the trust organise the gathering.
Similar programmes will be held in Lucknow on March 1 and Kolkata on March 8.
Khambekar also stated that the trust shortlisted places like Raipur, Bangalore, Baroda, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and New Delhi, where such programmes will be held in the near future. Among the destinations abroad the trust is thinking of Tanzania in Africa and Sydney in Australia to hold the devotee gatherings, dates for which will be decided soon.
The trust has decided to open information centres at four places in the country — New Delhi, Secunderabad, Chennai, and Bangalore. These centres will be connection points to Shirdi and people will be able to access information on days to visit, programmes, books, literature, stationary, transportation, train and bus timings, and bookings for bhakt niwas - the lodging arrangements at Shirdi.
In New Delhi, the centre will function from the Maharashtra Parichaya Kendra building and the Shri Saibaba Sansthan has spent Rs30 lakh to make the centre functional.
The trust has also secured an assurance from the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh to make land available to the Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust at Tirumalla, to build a guesthouse for devotees going to Tirupati from Maharashtra. Soon, this project will also be undertaken, Khambekar said.
The trustee added that the Sixth Pay Commission and all facilities have been implemented for the 4,000 employees of the Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust. The trust employees an additional force of 2,000 employees on daily-wage basis.
- NEW DELHI
- Shirdi
- Bangalore
- Goa
- Kolkata
- Lucknow
- Africa
- AHMEDABAD
- Andhra Pradesh
- Australia
- Chennai
- Digambar Kamat
- Hyderabad
- PANAJI
- Raipur
- Sydney
- Tanzania
- Ravi Naidu
- Maharashtra Parichaya Kendra
- Dayananad Bandodkar
- Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust
- Sai Bhakt Sammelan
- Baroda
- Ashok Khambekar
- Vivek Parsekar
- Tirumalla
- Chavadi
- Panji
- Sixth Pay Commission
- Dwarkamai