Bike Baba drives high on Esteem

The Bike Baba was seen clad in his usual saffron while driving his plush car and speaking on his latest mobile phone. It does not come as a surprise that in the wake of modernisation,even the mystics visiting Gangasagar Mela might indulge in some difference.

“I travel across the country to be a part of religious festivals. Initially,I used to ride a bike and go from place to place,then came a jeep and now an Esteem,” said Mahant Sivagiri. “I remember the first time that I came to the Mela in Bengal when I walked all the way from Gujarat,which had taken me almost three months,” he added.

According to Mahant Sivagiri,he earned the name Bike Baba for his uniqueness in being a mystic riding a bike everywhere. Sometimes,due to scarcity of funds,he is forced to adjourn his journey for a few days. But his foreign devotees always come to his rescue.

He travels to ashrams in Kathmandu,Punjab and Kashmir to help the non-governmental institutions in their cause. “There are places that I visit where I find some social welfare groups with a desire to do something. I help them out to start off,” he said.

Despite the fear that he might not be able to go till the Gangasagar island,this middle-aged sage who has driven from Kanyakumari to Kolkata travelling for 13 days,has dreams of this journey never ending. “After West Bengal,I will head towards Nepal and from there to Kashi. I also have plans of going to Italy and France albeit without the car,” said Mahant Sivagiri.