Sathya Sai Baba laid to rest in Puttaparthi

Spiritual leader Sri Sathya Sai Baba's last rites took place at the Prashanti Nilayam ashram in his home town of Puttaparthi today.

Sai Baba has been buried in the same hall - the Kulwant Hall in the ashram - where his casket was kept for darshan. Ten priests conducted the private funeral.

The burial was not open to the general public, but giant screens erected around the town were showing live footage of the event for the vast crowds of followers who have converged on Puttaparthi. Only family members, some members of the Prashanti Nilayam Trust and some important leaders gathered there were inside Kulwant Hall.
The public will now be allowed to visit Kulwant Hall again.
Darshan hours had to be extended until midnight on Tuesday for the thousands of devotees who wanted to pay their last respects to their spiritual leader. There were nearly 3.5 lakh devotees in Puttaparthi on Tuesday; another 5 lakh are expected today. After four days of state mourning, today is a holiday in all of Ananthapur district to allow people to pay homage.

The spiritual leader, loved by millions, passed away on Sunday after cardio-respiratory failure aged 84.  Since then, his body has lain inside a transparent casket to allow grieving devotees, including poor villagers, foreign pilgrims and celebrities, to pay their respects.

Many top politicians are in Puttaparthi today. Among them BJP patriarch LK Advani, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi visited the ashram to pay their last respects.

Star cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, an ardent devotee of Baba, also visited Puttaparthi on Monday. Accompanied by wife Anjali and friend V. Chamundeshwarnath, Sachin sat beside the body of Sathya Sai Baba at Kulwant Hall and prayed for him. He was seen wiping his tears with a handkerchief handed over by his wife. Sachin, who turned 38 Sunday, did not celebrate his birthday due to Baba's death.
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar also paid his last respects to Sai Baba on Monday. Tears could be seen in the batting legend's eyes even as his wife, Marshneil, sobbed uncontrollably.