India is truly a country with several unique spiritual places which are quite popular because of the local folklore or simply the faith of the locals. One such place is the Sagas Maharaj Karondiya Sarkar Mandir near Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, and the deity is popularly known as “Ghadi Wale Baba”.The Sagas Maharaj Ujjain aka Ghadi Wale Baba literally translates to “the Clock Saint” as the devotees here offer clocks to the saint. (Seems like a local version of “Doctor Strange” from Avengers). The banyan tree above this small temple appears to be a “clock tree” as there are 2000 clocks tied all over the tree.
Quite a unique temple. Right?
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As per the locals, the Sagas Maharaj Karondiya Sarkar Mandir has been there on the outskirts of Guradia Sanga for almost 10 years. But it gained popularity as Ghadi Wale Baba temple in the last 4-5 years when a devotee offered his wristwatch to thank the Sagas Maharaj Ujjain for fulfilling his wish.Upon seeing his prayers answered, the word spread about the Ghari Wale Baba as a saint who fulfills wishes upon offering a clock. Soon the people from the nearby villages visited the Sagas Bavji temple in the hope that Ghadi Wale Baba would “change their bad times into good times”.
Although the villagers don’t remember the origins of the Sagas Bavji temple, now the people here have a strong faith and belief in the powers of Ghadi Wale Baba. It is the faith that attracts pilgrims from 100 km around to visit this unique temple of Sagas Maharaj Ujjain.
People offer a watch, pray to the devotee, and make a wish. If their wish is fulfilled, they return to thank Ghadi Wale Baba and offer a watch again as a token of gratitude. And times have really changed for people who are now frequent visitors to this holy site.
The Sagas Maharaj Karondiya Sarkar Mandir is quite small and is located under an old banyan tree. The temple area is just 6 feet by 4 feet which was filled with heaps of clocks, so soon the devotees started tying the clocks on the branches of the banyan tree above. Today, this tree has more than 2000 cloaks tied to it. Furthermore, devotees now have made a wall of clocks along the temple by tying clocks on the strings as supported by the bamboo poles.