Belagavi  :

Almost six decades ago, he walked the streets of Sangargali and neighbouring villages at night, guarding them from thieves and other crimes. Ravalkatta Baba went on to become a local hero and was so revered that villagers built a temple in his honour.

The initiative to build the temple was taken up by ex-serviceman Vasant Bandodkar, a resident of Sangargali. He recalls stories of Baba roaming Sangargali, Gunji and nearby villages with a stick fitted with a bell in one hand and a lamp in the other. As he moved around, he would tap the stick on the ground, sounding the bell every time.

After his death, other watchmen tried to take Baba’s place but one of them died and another fled due to unknown reasons. Some villagers believe they can still hear the sound of Baba’s bell.
Bandodkar said in 2006 villagers decided to build a temple to honour his service. “We searched the whole forest for 3-4 days along with forest department personnel, but could not find the spot where Baba used to sit.

One day, as we were searching, an old man from a neighbouring village was passing by and asked us what we were searching for. He directed us to a spot. When we cleaned the bushes, we found the platform on which the Baba used to rest.

We built the temple at this spot and cleaned up the platform,” said Bandodkar.
Villagers used to earlier conduct a jatra (fair) once a year. Devotees sacrifice hens, goats and sheep at the temple as part of the pooja. “Baba used to take a train every day to the village and he would arrive at the neighbouring Gunji railway station around 12 noon. It became a practice to sacrifice the animal only after 12 noon or after hearing the sound of an approaching train,” he said.

In 2012, however, the practice of conducting the jatra was stopped by villagers after seniors of the village said it was improper. Forest department too objected to the jatra, saying it was disturbing wildlife.
But this hasn’t stopped devotees from thronging the temple. The temple is open only on Sundays and Wednesdays, but devotees visit throughout the week. Villagers from Sangargali, Gunji and surrounding villages, and from neighbouring states like Goa and Maharashtra make their journey to the temple to seek Baba’s blessings. The temple restricts entry to women. With the temple gaining such popularity, a local MLA provided `2.5 lakh for development of the temple a few years back.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Tushar A Majukar / Express News Service / January 29th, 2017