By IANS
Puttaparthi (Andhra Pradesh) : Thousands of people gathered at the airport here Thursday night after word spread that controversial godman Satya Sai Baba would be “sighted” on the moon – but returned disappointed when the “miracle” did not happen.
The 81-year-old Sai Baba was also present at the airport and later returned to his ‘Prshanti Nilayam’ ashram here in Anantapur district, about 500 km from state capital Hyderabad.
It all started when an official of the Sai Trust announced that the godman would make a “moon appearance” 6-7 p.m., and asked devotees to proceed towards the airport.
Thousands of the Baba’s devotees from neighbouring villages rushed to the airport but were disappointed as a cloud cover hid the moon. They waited for an hour before dispersing.
Police had a tough time in clearing the traffic on the airport road to enable the Baba to return to his abode amid tight security. There was no word from Sai Trust as to why the “miracle” failed to materialise.
His devotees believed that the clouds played spoilsport while rationalists termed it an attempt by Sai Trust to revive the Baba’s waning popularity.