THE CHARACTERS IN THE DRAMA OF SAI SAHEB (Shri Sai Leela January – February 1993)

There were so many characters who played the role in the drama of Shirdi Jagannataka Sutradhari. Let us have a glance at their role in this article. All the information is based on Shirdi Sai Sansthan publications, Devotees' experiences, by late Sri B. V. Narasimha Swamy, Literature of late Acharya Ekkirala Bharadwaja on Sai, Ambrosia in Shirdi, by Sri Ramalinga Swami

SAHEBS

1. Annasaheb Dabholkar

2. Annasaheb Gadgil

3. Annasaheb Mahajani

4. Annasaheb Mutalik

5. Appasaheb Kulkarni

6. Appasaheb (Magistrate of Kopergaon)

7. Babasaheb Khaparde

8. Babasaheb Dengle

9. .Babasaheb Tarkhad

10. Babasaheb Sahasrabuddhe

11. Babasaheb Ganesh

12. Babasaheb Sakharam Bable

13. Bapusaheb Booty

14. Bapusaheb Chandorkar

15. Bapusaheb Jog

16. Bapusaheb (Abkari Inspector)

17. Bapusaheb (Khaparde's father)

18. Balasaheb Bhate

19. Balasaheb Mirikar

20. Balasaheb (Mamlatdar)

21. Balasaheb Rege

22. Balasaheb Sulthe

23. Balasaheb Binnewale

24. Bhausaheb Dhumal

25. Bhausaheb Pradhan

26. Chottubhayya saheb Parulkar

27. Dadasaheb Karandikar

28. Dadasaheb Khaparde

29. Hazisaheb or Durveshsaheb Siddik Falke

30. Kakasaheb Dixit

31. Kakasaheb Mirikar

32. Mayisaheb (Brahmananda Bai)

33. Nanasaheb Chandorkar

34. Nanasaheb Rasne

35. Nanasaheb Dengle (Astrologer)

36. Nanasaheb Dengle (who gave wooden plank to Baba)

37. Nanasaheb Nimonkar

38. Nanasaheb Panse

39. Nanasaheb Behare

40. Raosaheb Narottam Shetli ;

41. Tatyasaheb Noolkar

PATILS

1. Chand Patil

2. Tatya Kote Patil

3. Dada Kote Patil

4. Ganpat Kote Patil

5. Bhimaji Patil

6. Balaji Patil

7. Raghu Patil

8. Ramchandra Dada Patil

9. Nigoji Patil

10. Appaji Patil

11. Tatyaji Ganpatrao Kote Patil

12. Appa Kote Patil

13. Chidambarrao Keshav Ghadge patil

14. Kavji patil

15. Nivritti Patil

16. Jahangir Patil (Parsi criticizer)

17. Srikrishna Patil

18. Vamanrao Patil

19. Shinde Patil (H/o. Lakshmibai Shinde)

20. Bala Patil

21. Bayaji Appaji Patil

22. Bayaji Patil (Kote) (H/o. Bhikoobai)

23. Dandulgaon Patil (wrestler)

SHASTRIES

1. Upasani Shastry

2. Balkrishna Govind Upasani Shastry

3. Shivanand Shastry

4. Moolay Shastry

5. Lele Shastry (Mukund Shastry Lele)

6. Kunte Shastry

7. Krishna Shastry (Bhishma)

DIXITS

1. Kakasaheb Dixit

2. Haribhau Dixit

3. Sadashivrao Dixit

4. Govind Kamlakar Dixit

5. Raobahadur Rajarampant Dixit

SHINDES •

1. Bhagoji Shinde

2. Lakshmibai Shinde

3. Appa Shinde

4. Shankarrao Shinde

5. Raghuji Ganpat Shinde

6. Narayan Govind Shinde  (ofHarda)

DENGLES

1. Tryambakji Dengle

2. Babasaheb Dengle

3. Sitaram Dengle

4. Nanasaheb Dengle (Astrologer)

5. Nanasaheb Dengle (who gave wooden plank to Baba)

DAS

1. Devidas

2. Janakidas

3. Ganudas (Dasganu)

LAKSHMI BAIS

1. Lakshmibai - Wife of G. S. Khaparde

2. Lakshmibai - Wife of Anna Chinchnikar

3. Lakshmibai (Shinde) -Received nine rupees by Baba

4. Lakshmibai (Kaujalgi) -Mousibai

WADAS

1. Sathe or Navalkar Wada

2. Dixit Wada

3. Booty Wada (Samadhi Mandir)

To overcome the confusion in the names

1. Bayja (Bayjabai)-Mother of Tatya Patil

2. Bayaji (Bayaji Appaji Patil) - In whose lap Baba left His mortal coil.

HOW BABA CALLED SOME OF THE DEVOTEES

1. Shama or Shyama -Madhavrao Deshpande

2. Bhagat - Mhalsapati

3. Mera Cowa (crow) or Halalkhor (scavenger) -Abdul

4. Ramkrishna or Ramkrishni -Radhakrisnnaayi

5. Ganu - Dasganu Maharaj

6. Rambhau - R. B. Purandare

7. Bapugir Buva - Ramgir Buva

8. Bademia - Bade Baba

9. Damya - D. S. Rasane

10. Somya - Somnath

Shankar Deshpande (S/o. Nanasaheb Nimonkar)

11. Mother - Mousibai

12. Dadasaheb - G. S. Khaparde

Now let us know the magic in the names

1. Hemadpant - Sri Govindrao Raghunath Dabholkar alias Annasaheb Dabholkar

2. Shama or Shyama -Madhavrao Balwant Deshpande

3. Nanumama pujari or Nanubhat pujari -Lakshman Kacheshwar Jakhadi

4. Babasaheb Tarkhad -Ramchandra Atmaram

5. Upasani Baba- Kashinath Govind Upasani Shastry

6. Dada Kelkar - Ganesh Damodar

7. Kaka Puranik - Raghunath Maharaj of Dhopeshwar

8. Bade Baba or Bademia -Malegaon Fakir Peer Mohammad or Fakir Baba

9. Anna Chinchnikar -Damodar Ghanshyam Babare

10. Mausibai - Lakshmibai Kaujalgi

11. Damooanna Kasar or Damusheth Kasar -Damodar Savlaram Rasane

12. Bapugir Buva (called by Baba) - Ramgir Buva

13. Bapusaheb Jog -Sakharam Hari

14. Kakasaheb Dixit or Bhausaheb Dixit - Hari Sitaram

15. Tembe Swamy - Sri Vasudevanand Saraswaty Swamy

16. Kaka Mahajani -Lakshmanrao

17. Dasganu Maharaj -Ganpatrao Dattatreya Sahasrabuddhe

18. Annasaheb Gadgil -Chidambar Keshav

19. Balabhau or Balabhat -Ramchandra Sitaram Dev

20. Bapusaheb Booty - Gopal Mukund

21. D. V. Sambhare-Mr. Kolambo

22. Mama Dube - Kashinath Dube

23. Kushabhau - Krishnaji Kashinath Joshi

24. Nanavalli – Shankar Narayan Vaidya

25: Nanasaheb Nimonkar - Shankarrao Raghunath Deshpande

26. Dadasaheb - G. S-. Khaparde

27. Mrs. Manager- Mrs. Tarabai Sadashiv Tarkhad

28. Radhakrisnnaayi -Sundaribai Kshirsagar

29. Saisharananand – Vamanrao Prangovind Patel

30. Dev Mamledar (Satara) -Yeshwantrao Bhaskar

31. Bhishma - Krishnashastry Jageshwar Bhishma

32. Mr. B. V. - Balasaheb Dev

33. Nanasaheb Chandorkar -Narayan Govind

34. Appa Kulkarni - Keshav Anant

35. Smt. Sai Mai - Mrs. Janakibai Tambe

36. Balasaheb Bhate -Purushottam Sakharam

37. Tatyasaheb Noolkar-Lakshman Krishnaji

38. Babu - Mahadev (younger son of Nanasaheb Chandorkar)

39. Damya - Damodar Savlaram Rasane

40. Hamsa or Swamy -Natekar

41. Balkrishna- Babasaheb Khaparde (eldest son of G. S. Khaparde)

42. Hazisaheb or Durveshsaheb or Hazrat -Hazi Mohammad Siddik of Kalyan

43. Maruti - Tryambakrao

44. Bapusaheb - Srikrishna Narhar (father of G. S. Khaparde)

45. Manutai - Lakshmibai (wife of G. S. Khaparde)

46. Haribhau Phanse -Janardan Moreshwar Phanse

47. Uddhavesh - Shyamdas

48. Sainath - Harihar or. Hareshwar (S. B. Nachne's younger son)

49. Chottubhayya - Krishnaji Narayan

50. Bhausahcb Pradhan -Lakshmanrao (Sub-Registrar)

51. Ganesh Sridhar-Kashinath (younger brother of Shama)

52. Somya – Somnath Shankar Deshpande (S/o. Nanasaheb Nimonkar)

53. Rambhau - R. B. Purandare

54. M. B. Rege - Chinna Kistna Rajasaheb Bahadur

55. Shankarrao - Balkrishna Vaidya

56. Nanumaharaj - Sripad Narsoba Panchlegaonkar

57. Thoser- Sri Narayan Ashram

58. Dada Kelkar - Damodar Kelkar (father-in-law of Sathe)

59. Daulat Shah - Dattatreya Damodar Rasane or Nanasaheb Rasane

60. Anna Rasane - Damodar Savlaram Rasane Kasar

61. Shirdi- Shiladhi

62. Sai Baba - The Lord God of Shirdi alone knows

Available full names of some of the Devotees

1. R. B. H. V. Sathe -Raobahadur Hari Vinayak Sathe

2. R. B. Purandare -Raghuvir Bhaskar Purandare "* - /-!•>

3. N. G. Chandorkar -Narayan Govind Chandorkar (Nanasaheb Chandorkar)

4. G. S. Khaparde - Ganesh Srikrishna Khaparde

5. D. S. Rasane – Damodar Savlaram Rasane

6. R. A. Tarkhad-Ramchandra Atmaram Tarkhad

7. Saptnekar - Mahadev Vaman Saptnekar

8. Y. J. Galvankar-Yeshwantrao Janardan Galvankar

9. S. B. Nachne -Shantaram Balwant Nachne Dahanukar

10. Minatai - Minatai Ganesh Kuvalekar (D/o. Nanasaheb Chandorkar)

11. M. W. Pradhan- Moreshwar Wishwanath Pradhan

12. G. G. Narke - G. Ganesh Narke

Baba always called Hari Sitaram Dixit as Kaka or Kaka Bixit. Hence he is noted as Kaka Dixit. Nanasaheb Nimonkar and D, S. Rasane were also called as Kaka. H. V. Sathe and Mirikar were called as Saheb. Shama always addressed Baba as Deva. Radhakrishnaayi's house was called as Shala (i.e. Pathashala, means school) by Baba. Baba always called Mousibai as Mother. Once Baba called her as his mother-in-law and made a joke about her saluting Him (i.e. Baba had accepted her as a disciple as per G. S. Khaparde's diary.)

I humbly prostrate before Sai Saheb of Shirdi to bless us all.

.   - P. S. Purushottam Rao

Ongole, A.P.