By: Amit Gattadahalli
Reference Source: The Wondrous Saint Sai Baba
By: Shri. Narasimha Swamy
Shri Sai Baba was an epitome of compassion incarnate. He treated the rich and the poor, old and the young, men and women, alike. The village of Shirdi where Baba lived for about sixty years had very few families in and off itself. Due to Baba’s fame the village had more visitors than the residents of Shirdi living in the village. Babu Kirwanaikaf was one of the few residents that lived in Shirdi. Kirwanaikafs were a humble family and had a mischievous little daughter named Santi. Santi was a 3 year old charming girl who made a claim on Baba’s brotherhood. She would sprint around the tiny houses and mud covered streets of Shirdi giggling with joy. Baba’s love toward children was so generous that Santi used to announce herself as Baba’s littlest sister. Baba was extremely fond of Santi.
The young age of Santi wasn’t enough to scare her from wandering away from home. The ‘everyone knows everyone else’ of the good old days made it all the easier for Santi to claim the near and far off streets of Shirdi to be her playground. One hot summer morning, as the families worked in the fields, the cattle grazed the hay stack, and the couple of tea stalls that also acted as a general and grocery stores served tea to the thirsty, and small meals to Baba’s visitors, Santi the mischievous was energized to a game of ‘catch-me if you can’ with the neighborhood kids. She sprinted so fast that she entered an area which was home to an unfenced well which was dug deep into the ground and was the main water source for the villagers of Shirdi. The neighborhood women had gathered had scattered around a few yards from the well. Before anyone could even react, Santi’s tiny yet fast leaps in air, landed her inside the well. Everyone present there were in aghast! They all ran to the well with fear-filled eyes. They all expected the fall may end up proving fatal.
Going up to the well they found that Santi was floating above water holding on to a ledge. “Baba held me up” smilingly said Santi. There was no other explanation for her safe escape. The fall had not injured her in the least.
The young age of Santi wasn’t enough to scare her from wandering away from home. The ‘everyone knows everyone else’ of the good old days made it all the easier for Santi to claim the near and far off streets of Shirdi to be her playground. One hot summer morning, as the families worked in the fields, the cattle grazed the hay stack, and the couple of tea stalls that also acted as a general and grocery stores served tea to the thirsty, and small meals to Baba’s visitors, Santi the mischievous was energized to a game of ‘catch-me if you can’ with the neighborhood kids. She sprinted so fast that she entered an area which was home to an unfenced well which was dug deep into the ground and was the main water source for the villagers of Shirdi. The neighborhood women had gathered had scattered around a few yards from the well. Before anyone could even react, Santi’s tiny yet fast leaps in air, landed her inside the well. Everyone present there were in aghast! They all ran to the well with fear-filled eyes. They all expected the fall may end up proving fatal.
Going up to the well they found that Santi was floating above water holding on to a ledge. “Baba held me up” smilingly said Santi. There was no other explanation for her safe escape. The fall had not injured her in the least.
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