KOZHIKODE: Sree Sailam Mandir, a residence built for Sai Baba by his devotees near Koyilandy, has been expecting him for the past eight years. But he could not make it. "Baba once said that he would come to Sree Sailam and stay there for one week," says Dr K B Venugopal, former convener of Sathya Sai Trust, Kerala. "So we completed the work of the Mandir in a record time of three months, in 2002," he said. According to him, Baba was attracted by the beauty of Sree Sailam and wished to stay there.
A special room and throne for Baba, a place where he can give darshan to devotees, rooms and other facilities for his disciples and bystanders everything was arranged at the Sree Sailam Mandir. The singlestoried Mandir has a central courtyard, circling verandahs, dining halls, kitchen and all other facilities of an ashram.
"We had even arranged a school stadium near here for him to speak to the devotees," said K P Ramachandran, coordinator of the Kerala Sathya Sai Trust. "Baba was very much concerned about Sree Sailam and gave suggestions at every stage of the construction," remembers Venugopal.
"We used to inform him the progress of the work. He gave suggestions about the design and facilities, and we waited for his approval at each stage," he added. "After the completion of the work, the key was taken to Puttaparthi and was blessed by Baba." The Mandir, which was constructed at a cost of Rs 95 lakh, was specially designed for Baba by famous architect P K R Menon. "A major portion of the funding was done by a devotee of Baba who is a cashew importer in Kollam, and the remaining amount was raised by the trust," said Venugopal.
According to him, Baba even planned a visit to the place in 2002. "He asked us about the distance and told us to plan a trip for him from Ootty to Sree Sailam. But unfortunately, after a week he suffered a fall in the bathroom which restricted his mobility."
"Since the completion of the work of the Mandir in 2002, we have been conducting daily bhajans there. We also keep a permanent oil lamp in the Mandir. The trust is carefully carrying out regular maintenance works of the Mandir, which will now turn out to be a devotional centre. Though Baba was not able to visit the Mandir physically, we believe that his spiritual presence will always be here," says Venugopal.