Monthly Archives: April 2015

A self-sustaining art village in Haveri

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Travel
Artists busy at work at the Utsav Rock Garden in Gotagodi of Haveri district.
Artists busy at work at the Utsav Rock Garden in Gotagodi of Haveri district.

With the government not keen on recruiting Fine Arts teachers, Yallappa Uppar, with his ‘Art Master Course’ certificate, would have ended up opting for a job that had nothing to do with his passion. But, a chance to work with a different media saved him.

Ten years after he made the choice, Yallappa is a happy man doing what he loves, making sculptures and getting paid for them.

Like Yallappa, there are 100 more sculptors and Fine Arts graduates, who are now able to make a living in an art village in Haveri district.

Located off the Pune-Bengaluru National Highway (No. 4), 37 km from Hubballi, the Utsav Rock Garden at Gotagodi in Shiggaon taluk of Haveri district, is a prime example of the transformation of an art village concept into a revenue-generating model.

The Utsav Rock Garden has already become a picnic hotspot for the people of the northern districts of Karnataka, where people love to spend the day experiencing ‘village life’ recreated by artisans.

The enjoy the art works, which are a mix of both contemporary and traditional art forms, fashioned out of cement.

What is unusual is that the ‘art village’ keeps on expanding, adding new creations while providing work to the artisans and the sculptors. The brainchild of senior artist, art teacher and folklore scholar, T.B. Solabakkanavar, and given shape by his son, Harsha Solabakkanavar, the rock garden, is an attempt at preserving Kannada culture and traditions.

“The set-up is in the form of a company now, but will soon get converted into a trust,” says Managing Director of the garden, Prakash Dasanur.

The art village is a training ground too.

“We provide training along with food and accommodation, and remuneration for the artists work. Over 2,000 artists have been trained here and they are taking up individual and group art assignments,” said Vedarani P. Dasanur, curator of the rock garden.

“There are around 80 Fine Arts schools in Karnataka, and not many who pass out are able to eke out a decent living. We experimented and recreated a revenue-generating model. The government could facilitate creation of such art villages in other places or involve artists in beautification projects and in preserving art and culture,” said Mr. Solabakkanavar.

“If the artists team up, there are various opportunities for them, especially in the wake of a growing demand for cement sculptures,” said Harsha.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National / by Girish Pattanashetti / Hubballi – April 06th, 2015

Southern Comfort Moves Up North

Business & Economy
U S Mahendar (fifth from left) with his team members | JITHENDRA M
U S Mahendar (fifth from left) with his team members | JITHENDRA M

The engaging logo of the pot-bellied coffee maker juggling his classic steel tumblers is all set to invade tea drinking bastions in north of the Vindhyas under the brand Hatti Kaapi. Rooted in Bengaluru, the affordable and well-researched over-the-counter format is the brainchild of U S Mahendar, a small town coffee powder maker, hailing from Hassan district. Catering to office goers, tourists, shoppers and passersby, the distinctive little outlets dish up seemingly endless South Indian style cups of filter coffee. They almost serve 70,000 cups  of coffee on a daily basis along with a small range of teas, milkshakes and snacks.

The Hatti Kaapi growth chart is impressive. It began as one tiny outlet in 2009 operating out of Bengaluru’s bustling Gandhi Bazar area and located under a stuffy staircase. Now 40 units are spread across street corners, tech-parks and more recently airports in Bengaluru and Hyderabad. At Rs 12, one can get a cup of hot filter coffee and khara bhath, while a cup of hot coffee costs Rs 5.

Mahendar himself sounds a tad bemused by their success and the several awards and recognitions they have won. “It was at 5.30 am on November 27, 2009, that we served our first cup of traditional filter coffee from our 40 sq ft counter in Gandhi Bazaar. We sold 3,000 cups at Rs 5 each the next day and haven’t looked back since,” he says, adding, “I came to Bengaluru with my mother, friend M L Gowda who is now a partner in Hatti Kaapi and with just Rs 2,000 in hand. My mission was to market our coffee powder to some of the big Udupi restaurant chains specialising in South Indian filter coffee. One particular brand insisted that we come in at 4 am each day , brew the coffee, serve it to customers and collect feedback on the quality.”

After three exhausting months of doing this, they were told that they were not good. In retrospect, that rejection turned out to be in their favour. Mahendar took it as a challenge and decided to start his own brand.

He attributes his success to his core team which includes a mix of Starbucks baristas, industry veterans like S Lakshmana Swamy  from Hindustan Unilever, his head of operations Balaji A R and several others who have been around since its inception. “We are now taking on tea drinking areas up north—Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. My dream is to have a Hatti Kaapi presence in major international cities like New York and Paris,” says he. This does not seem impossible as word has it that they are developing ties with international super market chains like Carrefour although they currently have no plans to raise money externally or to dilute their stake.

“You cannot beat our price or our packaging. We serve you coffee in earthen pots, takeaway cups or old-fashioned steel tumblers,” says he. And to satisfy those hunger pangs they also have a no-fuss menu of samosas, rolls, South Indian rice- and lentil-based staples like idlis or Bisibele Bhath (hot rice-dal mixture), stuffed buns and bags of savoury dips. “Our biggest challenge is keeping our price low without compromising on quality. Since we started, we have only increased our prices by Rs 3 per cup in corporate campuses and Rs 5 elsewhere. Yet the quality of our coffee powder and milk is not compromised on. We want to be the quintessential neighborhood adda that everyone must want on their street corner,” he signs off.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> LifeStyle> Food / by Jackie Pinto / April 04th, 2015

A ride of a lifetime

Uncategorized
Suresh Kumar (in yellow suit) during the zero-gravity flight. Photo: Special Arrangement
Suresh Kumar (in yellow suit) during the zero-gravity flight. Photo: Special Arrangement

On April 2, T.N. Suresh Kumar achieved what some of us can only dream of.

The senior scientist of ISRO’s Master Control Facility in Hassan, took a ride in a zero-gravity flight from the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in Moscow. This was a fulfilment of his long-cherished dream, a step up for his last year’s feat, when he became the first Indian to visit the stratosphere — the second layer of the Earth’s atmosphere.

Then, he had made it to an altitude of 17,100 metres from the Sokol Airbase near Nizhny Novgorod in Russia.

This time, he spent $ 5,400 for the flight, covering an altitude of around 8,500 m.

Mr. Suresh Kumar, who has travelled to 114 countries, told The Hindu over the phone: “I took the Indian flag and my mother’s photo for the flight as it was a memorable event in my life. I was one among 15 members from different countries.

We took the flight after completing medical fitness tests.

Only those who are fit physically and understand the instructions given at the training centre can take the flight.”

He lived with the passion to take the flight after he missed a chance to be part of ISRO’s team to visit space in 1986.

The visit was cancelled following the explosion of space shuttle Challenger.

He will return to India on April 18.

Mr. Suresh Kumar’s wife, Geetha, is also a scientist at the MCF.

They save a major portion of their salary for travel.

Geetha has also visited more than 90 countries.

Their daughter, Raksha, has visited more than 45 countries.

His family had accompanied him to Moscow.

While Geetha and Raksha have returned to India, Mr. Suresh Kumar continued on his visit to central Asia.

“We are budget-travellers. We book tickets in advance and carry ready-to-eat food to reduce expenditure,” he said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Karnataka / by Satish G. T / Hassan – April 05th, 2015

Bangalore Rose Onion gets GI tag

Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, Records, All, World Opinion

The ‘Bangalore Rose Onion,’ which is almost exclusively grown for the export market, has managed to get the coveted Geographical Indication tag. It is the 217th product in India to get the tag. The GI tag is an intellectual property right that not only indicates the geographical origin of that product but also conveys an assurance of quality and distinctiveness of the product. The Bangalore Rose Onion tag means that this onion is grown in one of the 16 taluks of Bengaluru rural, Kolar and Doddaballapur. The GI tag was announced late last week.

Bangalore Rose Onion growing areas
Bangalore Rose Onion growing areas

Bangalore Rose Onion is the only product from Karnataka to get the tag this year (2014-15) out of the 20 given products across the country. This is only the second item to have ‘Bangalore’ in its name. Out of the 235 products that now have the GI tag in India, 29 are from Karnataka. Out of these, edible products include the Coorg Orange, Mysore Betel Leaf, Nanjangud Banana, Monsooned Malabar Arabica Coffee, Coorg Green Cardomom and the Bangalore Blue Grapes.
The effort to get the GI tag for BRO started with the Bangalore Rose Onion Growers’ Association facilitated by the horticulture department of the state government. In their detailed application before the Geographical Indications Registry, they pointed out the uniqueness of the onion.

What makes it Special
What is unique about the BRO is that the bulbs have a flat base. The shape is spherical with deep scarlet red colour, anthocyanin, phenols and high pungency. The high pungency makes it preferable in making pickles. It also has higher levels of protein, phosphorus, iron and carotene. “Bangalore Rose Onion is grown only in and around Bengaluru, that is Bengaluru urban, Bengaluru rural, Kolar and Chikkaballapur districts. The climate and soil conditions of the area are ideally suited for this variety of onion. Deep fertile mekklu soil and sand mix of red soil of the area with good infiltration, soil pH ranging between 6.5 to 7, atmospheric humidity of 70 to 75% and average temperature of 25 to 350 C is most suitable. BRO is not consumed locally and the tag could only be a status symbol. TN Prakash Kammardi, Chairman of the State Agriculture Prices Commission, said, “You can find them in super markets these days, usually in pickled form. What the GI tag will do to the product and how far it will benefit farmers has to be seen.”

source: http://www.bangaloremirror.com / Bangalore Mirror / Home> Bangalore> Others / by Shyam Prasad S, Bangalore Mirror Bureau / April 06th, 2015

The keys to happiness

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Unique hobbies

KeyChainCollectorBF06apr2015

Sabhyata’s souvenirs stand proudly at the entrance to her house, welcoming visitors with jingling stories from different corners of the country.    A collector of keychains for over a decade now, her collection is vast and varied. Each one is testament to her travels and the different stories she has to share. She even fondly calls the collection the ‘Hanging Keychain Garden’! 

Sabhyata started collecting keychains when she was doing her bachelors in engineering, way back in 2000.    “I used to live in Mysuru and was doing an engineering course in Mandya. I was fascinated by the sheer number of keychain vendors and the variety that they used to sell. This spurred me to collect keychains.” She hasn’t stopped since.  She has about 118 keychains in her collection – from bare metal ones to those that have unique shapes and intricate designs.

Her collection includes keychains from metros like Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai, tourist spots like Goa and Kullu Manali, temple towns like Madurai and Udupi and from hole-in-the-wall shops around the City. She makes sure that she buys at least four keychains whenever she travels to a new place.  She has found star attractions for her collection outside temples such as Dodda Ganeshana Gudi in Basavanagudi and Muddu Udupi Sri Krishna  along with a metal keychain of Manjunatha from Dharmasthala, one of Radha and Krishna from ISKCON and another in the form of Hanuman Gade from the Doddanjaneya Temple in Mahalaxmi Layout.

Her treasured assets also include keychains in the form of toys and handmade dolls bought from exhibitions.     At the Dasara exhibition, she had bought keychains with cloth dolls and jute boys. There are keychains with Channapatna toys picked up from ‘khadi’ exhibitions. She also has a keychain with two girls from the Kalakruthi exhibition.

Although handmade keychains are the ones she treasures the most, she says, “I have many favourites. I have a beaded keychain which I bought from Akshardham in Delhi for Rs 80. It happens to be the costliest and one of my favourites. I also have a keychain which is in the form of a cycle made from unused wires.

A few other pretty ones come from handloom exhibitions in Chickpet and Channapatna.” She also has ‘multipurpose keychains’ in her bouquet of collection.     They are in the form of torches, screw-drivers, Pepsi bottles with pens, nail-cutters, measuring tapes and a weighing instrument that she carries around with her.     Roadside vendors have also contributed to her collection with intelligently-shaped designs. From simple keychains in the form of gambling dices, cigarette-shaped ones, girls and money to gory ones like skeletons and fish-bones, her collection is unique.

Sabhyata says, “Designs of keychains have changed a lot ever since I started collecting. I used to have bare metal keychains. Soon, handmade, jute and wooden keychains were an intimate part of my collection. Now, the keychains of cartoons and caricatures are in vogue. My daughter keeps me updated on keychains from shows like ‘Chhota Bheem’, ‘Jaggu’, ‘Bal Hanuman’ and about Barbie dolls and ‘Angry Birds’.”

She adds that her daughter picks up keychains for her when she visits old shops. Her family, too, has generously contributed to her hobby. “My aunt gave me a keychain from a Nepal trip.” But she says she finds the best keychains during train journeys, especially the ones from Bengaluru to Mysuru. From Delhi,  she has bought at least six keychains.   She would like to pursue this hobby as collecting keychains comes in handy.

“It’s a cost-effective hobby. Keychains are reasonably priced with beautiful colours and patterns.” Although, many a time, her child has not received return gifts from tours, Sabhyata makes sure she brings back her treasured keychains, which fully clink of stories.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Supplements> MetroLife / by Anushka Sivakurma / DHNS – April 06th, 2015

New Tech in City Station to Help Seniors Climb Stairs

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, Science & Technology, Travel

Bengaluru :

The City Railway Station is likely to become the first station in the country to get a stairlift, a mechanical device to carry people up and down stairs.

Essentially a chair mounted on rails, the stairlift helps the elderly, differently abled and those with knee problems. It is new in India, but has been around in the United States since the 1930s, helping victims of polio negotiate stairs.

Picture for representation
Picture for representation

In Bengaluru, product testing is under way on Platform 1 since Thursday, and so far, no problems have been reported. A woman passenger, weighing 120 kg, was among those who volunteered to test the stairlift.

Dr Arun Kumar Manocha, chairman and managing director, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), Delhi, is in town to demonstrate the technology to Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu.

“The stairlift is imported from the Netherlands from a reputed company with a long innings in manufacturing safety products. It meets European passenger safety standards,” Manocha said.

The company’s Indian franchisee is in Bengaluru and so the City Station emerged as a natural choice to test the technology.

IRCTC is only looking at Platform 4 as it is the only one that lacks a pedestrian subway, Manocha added. The staircase is ‘Z’-shaped with a flight of stairs followed by a landing and another flight of stairs.

“We are looking at introducing two stairlifts, one for each flight of stairs. The passenger will have to walk the one or two metres between the two,” he told Express.

The cost of the two stairlifts and the 15 metres of railing it needs will work out to around Rs 6 lakh, he said. “We initially planned installing a railing on the flat surface also so that the passenger need not disembark and all steps leading to Platform 4 could be covered in one go. But it worked out very expensive (Rs 16 lakh),” he said.

New Tech in Station to Help Seniors Climb Stairs

The equipment and the railings can be installed in just two hours. If trials succeed in Bengaluru, many stations across the country will have it.

It works out much cheaper than an escalator or a lift, which require more time and space for installation, Manocha said.

Simple Apparatus

The stairlift, which can carry a passenger load of 140 kg, runs on mains, but will also have a chargeable battery so that it does not stop midway in case of a power disruption.

Initially, an attendant will man the operations, but gradually, the public will be allowed to handle it, Manocha said, describing the procedure as simple. To ensure safety, it will have a seatbelt.

After being approved by Suresh, the stairlift has to be okayed by the directors of IRCTC.

The operation is likely to begin in three months. IRCTC is installing the stairlift as part of a corporate social responsibility initiative.

“The Delhi passport office introduced a stairlift recently, but it was not working when I checked it out a few days ago,” Manocha said.

At the City Station, the IRCTC has also donated flashlights and horns for golf carts, four sophisticated wheelchairs (Rs 12,000 each) and a superior filtration system that can purify 200 litres of water an hour.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by S. Lalitha / April 04th, 2015

Industrialist turned kite flyer organizes summer camp on kite building and kite flying

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Sports
Sandesh Kaddi, industrialist turned international level kite flyer, is going to conduct a camp in ‘kite building and kite flying’ in this summer.
Sandesh Kaddi, industrialist turned international level kite flyer, is going to conduct a camp in ‘kite building and kite flying’ in this summer.

Belagavi :

Sandesh Kaddi, industrialist turned international level kite flyer, is going to conduct a camp in ‘kite building and kite flying’ in this summer. It’s a first time such activity will be taking place in Belagavi city.

Sandesh is a habitual kite flyer since his childhood and taken this hobby seriously since past 5-6 years. He is a regular participant at the international kite festival held at Gujarat annually while took part in kite flying events at abroad including China and Dubai. According to Sandesh, kite flying is an inherited hobby to him as his father, paediatrician Dr M S Kaddi has great craze of kites.

Since the former MLA Abhay Patil is hosting international kite festival in Belagavi since past four years annually, it has created hundreds of kite enthusiasts in city and providing huge platform to budding talents. “I have conducted several workshops in schools and colleges on kites but it’s a first time I am embarking to hold summer camp during vacations”, Sandesh Kaddi said to the TOI. Camp will be in two groups- one is for 7-15 age group children and second group will be the age group of 15 onwards.

Prime idea behind holding this camp is bringing out kids from TV and video game culture and encouraging them to exhibit their kite flying art in nature, and get fun along with friends and family. Kite flying is also being considered as a best therapy to release the stress. “I have conducted workshops on kite flying for the kids of orphanage, HIV positives and disable kids organized by Rotary Club and other social organizations”, he said.

During the camp, kids will build their own kites and fly them out. They will be given guidance on every stage of kite building and taught the art of kite flying.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Hubballi / by Ravindra Uppar, TNN / March 23rd, 2015

Kalaburagi student is champion

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Records, All

Spoorthi S. Kamaradgi has been adjudged the State champion in the Handwriting Olympiad, conducted by the Madhya Pradesh-based Master Mind Tutorials.

Ms. Spoorthi, a Class 10 student of Sharanabasaveshwar Residential Public School in Kalaburagi, with her prowess in legible cursive writing skills, beat the stiff challenge of other students drawn from different schools throughout the State.

Skills

The contestants were judged on legibility, size, spacing and slant of their handwriting skills.

Greeted

President of the Sharanabasaveshwar Vidyavardak Sangha Poojya Sharanabasvappa Appa and principal of the school N.S. Devarkal congratulated her for her achievement.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Kalaburagi – April 06th, 2015

5-day Intl. Herbal Medicine Conference inaugurated

Science & Technology, World Opinion
Dr. V. Prakash, Scientist of CSIR - India and Director of Research, Innovation & Development at JSS Mahavidyapeetha, is seen lighting the lamp to inaugurate the five-day international conference on Herbal Medicine organised by NAM S&T Centre and JSS University at Sri Rajendra Auditorium, JSS Medical College, Mysuru, this morning. Also seen in the picture are (from left) Principal of JSS Medical College Dr. H. Basavana Gowdappa; JSS University Director-Academic Dr. P.A. Kushalappa; Director General of NAM S&T Centre (New Delhi) Dr. Arun. P. Kulshreshtha; Vice-Chancellor of JSS University Dr. B. Suresh and Professor-Emeritus of Department of Phytopharmacy & Phytomedicine K. Chinnaswamy.
Dr. V. Prakash, Scientist of CSIR – India and Director of Research, Innovation & Development at JSS Mahavidyapeetha, is seen lighting the lamp to inaugurate the five-day international conference on Herbal Medicine organised by NAM S&T Centre and JSS University at Sri Rajendra Auditorium, JSS Medical College, Mysuru, this morning. Also seen in the picture are (from left) Principal of JSS Medical College Dr. H. Basavana Gowdappa; JSS University Director-Academic Dr. P.A. Kushalappa; Director General of NAM S&T Centre (New Delhi) Dr. Arun. P. Kulshreshtha; Vice-Chancellor of JSS University Dr. B. Suresh and Professor-Emeritus of Department of Phytopharmacy & Phytomedicine K. Chinnaswamy.

Mysuru :

Appealing for a marriage between traditional knowledge and modern science, distinguished scientist of CSIR – India and Director of Research, Innovation and Development at JSS Mahavidyapeetha, Dr. V. Prakash, said that India should innovate new herbal medicinal practices and products by digesting its immense historical-knowledge of herbal medicine. He was delivering the keynote address after inaugurating the five-day international conference on herbal medicine at Sri Rajendra Auditorium, JSS Medical College in city today.

The conference is jointly organised by the Centre for Science and Technology of the Non-Aligned and other Developing Countries (NAM S&T Centre), New Delhi and JSS University, Mysuru. After the first two days (Mar. 30 and 31), the venue of the conference will be shifted to the JSS Campus in Ooty, Tamil Nadu.

Addressing a gathering that had delegates from around 30 countries, Dr. Prakash lauded Mysuru as the ‘Ayur-Valley of the world’ and called for a conjunction of pharmaceuticals with herbal medicines.

He dismissed the speculation of a ‘complete collapse’ of the Asian economy by the year 2020 due to over-population and said that it is not a threat but an opportunity to use the human resource to its best and develop a new herbal supply chain right from pre-harvest till consumption. He also recommended every herb available in the country to be grown like a tea-gardens and make India a ‘healthy nation.’

Speaking about the contemptuous attitude of the world community towards Ayurveda, he said, “In the recent past, there has been an uneasy silence regarding the uses of ayurveda in curing diseases and slowly it is now seen as the best mode of treatment. India and other Asian countries can use this opportunity, research further and develop new products that can help humanity in general. All we have to do is give the herbal medicines a Grandmother’s touch.”

Director General – NAM S&T Centre (New Delhi) Dr. Arun. P. Kulshreshtha and JSS University VC Dr. B. Suresh were the chief guests. JSS University Registrar Dr. B. Manjunatha, Director-Academics and Chairman Dr. P.A. Kushalappa, JSS Medical College Principal Dr. H. Basavana Gowdappa and Professor Emeritus of Department of Phytopharmacy and Phytomedicine K. Chinnaswamy were present.

The third volume of the Compendium on Medicinal Plants was also released on this occasion.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / March 30th, 2015

Gudidi Baba , A Miracle Man

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All

Pages from History :

by Prof. A.V. Narasimha Murthy

I was recently reading ‘Rosary of Saints’ by Meera S. Sashital and published by BVB, Mumbai. It is an interesting book and acquaints the readers with many saints who are normally not known to most of us. The life-sketch of a saint, Gudidi Baba of the 19th century, appealed to me the most and I thought of sharing it here.

The word Gudidi means a thin light cotton blanket stuffed with cotton. It is stitched by joining small pieces of cloth of different colours. It is generally known to us kaudi or datta. It is also called comforter. This saint always used to carry this kaudi or gudidi and people began to call him by that name as Gudidi Baba as they did not know his original name. This Baba used to wear a loin cloth even during winter. He always carried a small brass vessel and a bamboo shell to eat food and drink milk or water. The bamboo shell was also used as a musical instrument whenever he went on singing in praise of the divine. He would normally sing songs written by Kabir, Nanak, Tulsidas, Dadubaba and others which were quite popular. He had a rich and melodious voice to attract people. He used to get into ecstasy that would turn into trance. All these qualities endeared him to the crowd in the town Pilkhuva.

People liked him, his songs and talked to him with respect and affection. But nobody knew his name, caste, age and personal details. Slowly he became a mystic saint. People would throng to see him and get blessed. Even non-believers used to visit him out of curiosity and most of them became his devotees. Some admired his yogic powers. He used to bring people to the divine path. This became well-known and made him famous as a miracle man.

All these attracted more number of people to his fold. Pilkhuva was a great centre of the movement of Arya Samaj and they criticised him for his teaching which would bring religious chaos. They insisted that religion should function within the purview of social and religious traditions of the society.

Though Gudidi Baba differed from them, he never went into any arguments with them. He always said people should have religious freedom. At times he preached devotion to Krishna (Krishnabhakti), Vedanta which meant advaita or non-dual philosophy. He would declare “I’m alone there and there is no second or other person.” This is closer to the philosophy of ‘I am Brahman’ (Aham Brahmasmi) the traditional saying of ancient India. He knew that this concept was very difficult to comprehend and hence avoided such topics.

Baba chose to perform miracles to drive home his philosophy because common people believed and understood miracles. Once Baba called some children, removed some threads from his kaudi, gave each of them a thread and asked them to keep them in their fist. After sometime he asked them to open their fist and to their utter pleasant surprise, they found grapes, almonds and dry fruits and this made great news in the town. Children began to follow him and their parents would also come behind to see this miracle. Thus, more people began to walk around him making him more popular.

People, who did not like the Baba, called him a black magician and accused him of cheating the simple-minded devotees. Once they poured milk into his bamboo vessel and asked him to turn it to grapes. Baba closed his eyes for a minute and took out grapes from the vessel and distributed it to the people assembled there. On many occasions he drew grapes from the vessel and distributed to devotees. On another occasion, a non-believer came to test him. Baba asked him to shake the empty glass and people heard some sound and on examination, it was found to be a one-rupee coin. Then Baba asked him to shake it five more times and five more coins were seen in it.

Atmaram Maharaj came to stay in his ashram. He was an atheist. He wanted to test the Baba. Baba understood this and asked him what he wanted. Atmaram, who wanted to test him, asked for pomegranate grown in Kandahar. Baba smiled at him and closed his eyes and raised his hands and got the pomegranate fruit. Atmaram was surprised and became a devotee of the Baba. A person by name Lala Jagannath was going go Ghaziabad. Baba, who saw him, put his hand into the well and got a bottle of oil and a piece of soap and gave them to Jagannath. On another occasion, a devotee came to him and lamented that he was not blessed with a son. Baba gave him gold ash (Suvarna Bhasma) and asked him to take it. After some time, he came to Baba, prostrated before him and showed him his son and requested for his blessings. Baba was happy to do that.

Gudidi Baba had a good knowledge of medicine. He was capable of extracting oil from sulphur. Others also tried but failed. Baba said that it requires a combination of mantra, tantra and devotion. Thus Baba had cured many patients in whose cases the local doctors had failed. He used to say that God is the healer and he was only an instrument. Baba was familiar with leaves and herbs and he himself would bring them from the forest and give it to patients. Thus he became a Siddha Purusha.

Baba was active serving the people in various ways. He used to visit Pilkhuva often for almost thirty years. Whenever he went to any place, he was helping the people. In 1951, he came to Pilkhuva and understood that this was his last visit as God wanted him to leave this old body and change to a new one. He called his devotees and told them about this and asked them not to weep but to be happy as he is going to adorn a new body. He told them the date and time of his departure. He cast-off his body on his way to Meerut at the (6.3.1951) exact time. His body was then consigned to mother Ganga at Garmuktesvar where his Samadhi can be seen even now.

Thus Gudidi Baba led a life of activity which included mainly serving the people and showing them the right path of ethical principles. This he did living in the midst of the people and transformed the people who came in contact with him. This was the greatness of Gudidi Baba, a good example of simple living and high thinking.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / Saturday – March 28th, 2015