Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
structural ingenuity. Brahmin Meels Hotele proclaimed a clumsily
handpainted board outside one; next to it was the Military Meals
Hotell. The former catered to India's vegetarian priestly caste, while
its neighbour sought business from the carnivorous Kshatriya, or
warrior caste - not that Brahmins are necessarily priests, or Kshatriya
soldiers these days. There were other, less specialised restaurants, as
well. Virtually all the other precarious structures appeared to deal
exclusively in the Sai Baba souvenir trade: cheaply framed and
frequently garish photographs of the curious figure, with his orange
robe and black halo of incongruous Afro hair, peered out from stacks
of Sai Ram Incense; coils of sandalwood or rudraksha bead rosaries
held enamel lockets emblazoned with his image; heaps of shoddily
bound tomes typeset by dyslexics dispensed his wisdom. There were
Sai Baba calendars, Sai Baba pens, Sai Baba dashboard magnets,
and thousands of Sai Baba bumper stickers - the kind that required
glue to stick. Almost any object that could be retailed for less than
ten rupees seemed to be available with the holy man's likeness stuck,
stamped, or painted on it. Near the main gates of the ashram,
however, this explosion of spiritual materialism was tempered by
the more pragmatic appearance of a laundry that specialised in white
garments, and a tailor who appeared to manufacture such white
garments exclusively. These were, I soon found, the all-but-
mandatory uniform of the male Baba devotee.
'No rooms available,' snapped Mr Nithyagiri Rao, supervisor of
accommodation. Short, muscular, nervous, this supervisor was
swathed in pristine white homespun, or khadi. Somehow just being
near him made me tense.
'But I've come all the way from England,' I told him, unable to
believe there was no room at the inn.
He avoided my eyes, pretending to deal with papers piled on his
desk. 'No accommodations available,' he muttered.
The ashram was named Prasanthi Nilayam - Abode of the Highest
Peace. As was often and eagerly pointed out, 'Jerusalem' has an almost
identical meaning.
Joy had vanished the moment Abdul heaved on his handbrake. I
tracked her down in a dingy café full of Westerners hunched over
chai. Everyone wore hybrid Indian outfits: saris with straw hats
