Sai Baba laid to rest at Kulwanth Hall with state honours

The funeral of Sathya Sai Baba, who died on 24 April was held today morning with full state honours at Puttaparthi in Andhra Pradesh, with a sea of devotees making their way Prashanti Nilayam, Baba’s abode. Tracking the mahasamadhi • 9.00am—930am— Baba was laid to rest with full state honours • The burial was a private ceremony with participation restricted to Trust members, VVIPs and family members • Burial was held at the Sai Kulwanth Hall • Sai Baba buried as per custom not cremated 10.07am— The burial rites are finished and the burial began • Sai Baba’s nephew RJ Ratnakar performed the last rites • 12pm—Burial site will be opened for public for two days Names you might recognize who paid their last respects A sea of humanity—from commoners to VVIPs—descended on Puttaparthi in Andhra Pradesh to pay their last respects to spiritual guru Sathya Sai Baba before his funeral this morning, who passed away on 24 April. [caption id=“attachment_2483” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Missing their Sathya Sai. Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP”] [/caption] The burial at the Sai Kulwant Hall was held with full state honours between 9 and 9.30 am. • Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and a host of other dignitaries visited Puttaparthi on Tuesday to pay their last respects to Sai Baba. • Andhra Pradesh Governor ESL Narasimhan and Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy  are attending the funeral along with senior BJP leader LK Advani and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. • Chants of ‘Jai Sai Ram’ rang out and volunteers sang Sai Bhajans as cricket legends Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar came with their families on Monday to pay their last respects. • Cricketers VVS Laxman and Sreesanth also paid their repects to Sai Baba. Union ministers Vilasrao Deshmukh, Praful Patel, SM Krishna,  yoga guru Baba Ramdev, veteran South Indian playback singer P Suseela and actress Anjali Devi were among the prominent persons who paid homage to the Baba’s body that was lying in state in the Sai Kulwanth Hall at Prasanthi Nilayam.