The abode of the great saint of the 20th century, Sai Baba, who lived in Shirdi for more than 50 years of his life, has made this small village in the Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra a big pilgrimage site for the devotees of the saint from all around the world.
The story of Sai Baba entering this small village is unique enough, the way his miracles were. He came to Shirdi along with a marriage party and then stayed back. He was denied entry into a temple by a priest taking him to be a Muslim from his dress. So throughout his life the saint stayed in the Mosque of Shirdi but was a regular visitor of few of the temples in Shirdi. No one ever came to know what his religion was. He believed in God and asked people to keep faith in the almighty. He had miraculous curative powers and advised people of all the faiths, creed and caste to about brother hood, harmony, cleanliness and faith in the almighty.
Due to this people from all castes, creeds and religions come to Shirdi to take the blessings of the great saint.
The small place which is barely a 100 km from Nashik today is a bustling pilgrimage centre of India. Nearly every nook and corner of the small village has some affiliation with the great saint. Even today the last few surviving elders of the village vividly recall the miraculous wonders of the sage. Sai Baba left for the heavenly abode in 1918 and his Samadhi is visited by thousands daily.