Offerings to Saibaba of Shirdi to be auctioned

Precious items offered by devotees at the Saibaba temple here will be put on auction this week. These include gold and silver crowns, statuettes, garlands, ‘padukas’ [sandals], necklaces, diamonds and precious stones.Saibaba, Maharashtra’s most famous saint, lived and preached in this small town in Ahmednagar district over a century ago. The auction -- the third in the last 10 years -- will include 32-kg silver offerings, 18-kg gold offerings, 52 precious stones and articles studded with them, a Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust [SSST] spokesperson said. The auction’s first phase will start 18 Oct. The auction will continue for two more Thursdays next month. This is the first auction of the temple riches after a committee appointed by the Bombay High Court took over the SSST management in March.