HYDERABAD: Not many know the age-old story of the legendary nine Shirdi coins that relate to Sai Baba.
The coins were brought to Hyderabad for the first time on Thursday by the fourth generation of the late Laxmibhai Shinde, who served food to Sai Baba everyday for about 45 years.
The coins hold great veneration among Sai Baba devotees as there is a firm belief that anything that had Baba’s touch is a sacred relic.
Almost 101 years have passed, but the story of the coins have lived on. According to Arun Gaikwad Patil, the great-grandson of Laxmibhai, “Our great grandmother, who used to feed Sai Baba every day, got these nine coins from him as a sign of gratitude for single-mindedly taking care of him for many years.”
He states that on October 15, 1918, just minutes before Sai Baba attained samadhi, he handed over the coins to Lakshmibai as a prasadam.