After Ramlila, all roads lead to Ralegan Siddhi
Ralegan Siddhi: Letters land up just by Anna Hazare's name. Tourists now include this hitherto unknown village in their itineraries even as authorities struggle to manage the overwhelming crowds. Most politicians avoid it.Ralegan Siddhi, social crusader Anna Hazare's native village in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar district, suddenly finds itself in the midst of unprecedented limelight, thanks to the media play that he and his movement has got in the last few months. It has now been catapulted to the country's pilgrimage and tourist circuits.
The septuagenarian anti-corruption activist has scaled new heights of popularity and admiration from people across the country and even abroad.
A majority of people visiting Shirdi's Sai Baba Temple, Shani-Shingnapure Temple in Ahmednagar district or even Pune and its Bhimashankar peak and Malshej Ghats, make it a point to visit Ralegan Siddhi, according to locals.
Kishore Mapari, the manager of a local museum-cum-infomedia centre, said that till March an average of 500 curious people used to visit the village daily.
"This has changed after his two agitations and hunger strikes in New Delhi. Now, we get over 1,500 people daily which includes students, academicians, researchers, tourists, pilgrims and commoners," Mapari told.
But most politicians tend to stay away. The Anna Hazare movement against corruption has consciously kept politicians at bay, with some Team Anna leaders like Kiran Bedi also publicly lampooning them.
Besides going around the village - converted into an eco-friendly model of self-sufficiency and prosperity by Hazare - they express eagerness for information on his strategies which changed the lives of the villagers.