GOD, GUIDE, FRIEND

SATHYA SAI BABA HAS TOUCHED COUNTLESS LIVES IN PROFOUND AND DIVERSE WAYS. DIFFERENT PEOPLE LOOK UP TO HIM DIFFERENTLY. FOR MANY, HE IS NO LESS THAN GOD, AN AVATAR; FOR OTHERS, HE IS A CONSTANT COMPANION, CONSCIENCE KEEPER, A FATHER-LIKE FIGURE, GURU, OR FRIEND. ACROSS THE WORLD, MILLIONS SPEAK TO HIM EVERY DAY, SEEK HIS GUIDANCE, DRAW STRENGTH FROM HIS MESSAGES. NO ONE WHO HAS TRULY CONNECTED WITH HIM HAS EVER LEFT UNFULFILLED.

- BY ANIRUDHA KARINDALAM

THE WEEK SPOKE TO A FEW WELL-KNOWN DEVOTEES FROM DIFFERENT WALKS OF LIFE TO UNDERSTAND THEIR UNIQUE BOND WITH BABA.

Alvin Kallicharran Former cricketer

I felt utterly humble

A West Indian cricketer of Tamil descent, Alvin Kallicharran was celebrated for his stylish left-handed batting. During the mid-1970s, he was one of the most reliable batsmen in the world. Though small in size, he fearlessly faced some of the fastest ever bowlers like Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson. He was part of the West Indies' World Cup winning team in 1975 and 1979, and assisted Baba to organise the Unity Cup cricket match at the Hill View Stadium in Puttaparthi in 1997. Sachin Tendulkar led the Indian XI to victory over the International XI captained by Arjuna Ranatunga. Kallicharran has been a Baba devotee since the late 1970s. He says Baba taught him the value of humility; that no matter who you are, you must bow before the divine.

"DURING MY FIRST tour of India in 1974 as a member of the West Indies cricket team, I played in a benefit match in Bombay for Ajit Wadekar, the former Indian Test captain, following the fifth Test between India and the West Indies. During that match, I suffered a [self-inflicted] injury and had to be hospitalised.

The next day, as I lay in bed, a nurse ushered in an elderly gentleman who seemed deeply distressed about my condition. He apologised repeatedly, saying he felt responsible because he had tried several times to warn me not to take part in the benefit match; he had foreseen that I would be injured, but his warnings had gone unheeded. Before leaving, he handed me a small packet containing what looked like dust or sand.