A white dog curls up on the doormat at the entrance of the Saibaba Temple at Gazdar Bandh in Santacruz.

Pet Puja: Sainath takes a hike

By MITALI PAREKH, Mumbai Mirror | Dec 23, 2013, 11.08 AM IST

A white dog curls up on the doormat at the entrance of the Saibaba Temple at Gazdar Bandh in Santacruz. His name is Sainath and he likes long walks. Really, really long walks. We're talking about eight-day long walks from Mumbai to Shirdi. 

That's where he is from. The temple takes Saibaba's palki to Shirdi every year. The devotees and the functionaries make the 250-km odd journey on foot, taking eight days. 

One day, six years ago, a pup started walking with them when they were making their journey back. The group imagined the dog would go back to Shirdi after walking some distance from the town, but he just kept walking until they reached Mumbai. The pilgrims shared their food with him and he slept with them through the journey. 

Now he sits at the door of the temple, quiet and composed. He is fed, vaccinated and looked after by the functionaries of the temple and the devotees nearby. Ever docile, he'll waddle to you for a pet, but he's no boisterous attention seeker. He's content to sit quietly by the door, while devotees swerve and step over him to pay their respects. 

"Every year when the palki starts up for Shirdi, he takes his place behind the flag-bearer as they begin their walk," says Prashant Thakur, a 25-yearold driver who lives in the vicinity. "He walks with the group for eight days, unmindful of the other dogs and the weather," Yogesh Alankar, a student who is one of the pilgrims from the area. When they get to Shirdi, he acts like he is back in his village, gallivanting around town, meeting old friends, until its time to leave. If they are making the journey back by car, he jumps into the one with the provisions immediately, and bids goodbye until next year. 

It's not all hearsay, this. The big banners around the temple show Sainath walking in the procession to Shirdi. This is some kind of idyllic life —a safe haven to sleep, regular food, long walks and a way to keep in touch with the roots.