BalajiVasant Talim

Balaji Vasant Talim was a sculptor from Bombay, well known for his statues. In the early 1950s the Shirdi Sansthan decided to place an idol of Baba in the Samadhi Mandir, and Talim was given the task.

No clear full-length photograph of Baba seated in the right pose was available, so Talim worked from old photographs and his own meditation. Devotees say that Baba appeared to him in a dream and showed him how he should look, guiding the work. A block of fine Italian marble that had arrived unclaimed at the Bombay docks was used for the idol.

The idol was installed in the Samadhi Mandir on Vijayadashami, 7 October 1954. It shows Baba seated with his right leg over his left knee, gazing gently at the devotee. Today millions of people see Baba through Talim's work every year, and the idol is copied in Sai temples all over the world.