Every Thursday, around 8.30 p.m. the devotional fervor in the Saibaba temple at Shirdi reaches its peak. A palanquin decorated with marigold flowers carrying a large portrait of the Sufi saint is ready for its weekly procession — a tradition since 1909, and continued after the saint’s transition in 1918. Groups sing bhajans (devotional songs). Several pray that they somehow manage to dart under the lifted palanquin, considered a sign of great blessing. The atmosphere, pregnant with sacredness, is accentuated by the burning of perfumed frankincense.
Suddenly, there is a hushed silence. A tall and robust figure, dressed in the......