DERI PIPALIYA, March 16: Four hours separate Rajkot from Deri Pipaliya. But it may as well be four decades, so nondescript is this town in northwest Gujarat. Today, however, it's a major pilgrimage centre: thousands are flocking to see the samadhi of Valjibhai Dobaria.This is no ordinary samadhi. There's a picture of Rama Pir, a local warrior saint, which has five Bristol cigarettes acting as agarbattis in front of it. But this was no ordinary person. Valjibhai, alias Vilji Bhagat, left this world by a rather unique method: he literally dug his grave, sat in it (with a coconut on his head) and had his followers bury him alive! And overnight -- the incident took place on March 3 -- Deri Pipaliya has acquired a cult status reminiscent of Deorala after Roop Kanwar's infamous sati.
Things happened with remarkable speed after that. A base, built by Bhagat's followers, came up at the site within hours. Moments later, a green flag -- the symbol of Rama Pir, a warrior-saint whomBhagat used to worship -- began fluttering. By daybreak, a cement-and-tile structure had sprouted.
It didn't take long for news of the samadhi to spread. Bhagat's followers and others, impressed by the show of self-sacrifice, came to the burial site in an unending stream. Today nearly 1,000 people from various corners of the state and outside, aided by pointers and signposts, visit Morwada, eight km from Deri Pipaliya, where Bhagat went in his own grave.
The glare of the spotlight has not, however, taken away the simplicity of the people here. Three days ago, the Junagadh police filed an FIR against six of those who "aided and abetted Bhagat" (after all, he did commit suicide), including his widow Vimlaben.
She says she can't understand what's wrong. "What does one do when this thing (the FIR) happens?" she says. "Why are they doing this to us? We didn't do anything. It was his wish and the whole village accompanied him on his last journey." She loses her cool when she's told that one newspaperreported that Bhagat was buried after he died a natural death at his place. "We were there when it all happened; myself, our two sons. There were nearly 300 others. How can they say that?" she says.
Vimlaben is proud of her husband, who had decided 12 years ago that she was his "sister" and had her tie a rakhi on him. She also "knew" of her husband's death wish almost three years ago. "He knew when he had to die. He used to say that he would not live on this earth a moment longer than what has been divinely ordained. `I will know the time when I will be asked to leave this earthly vehicle', he would say."
She gets irritated when asked if she and her two children ever felt sad at what happened. "On his last journey, people were singing. They had come in trucks, lorries and on foot. Shokh thi nai, anand thi," she says, even as she lights five Bristols and offers them in front of Rama Pir's portrait, fixing them to a stand. She then sprays a room deodorizer `Sweet Dream'. "Only Bristols and themost expensive perfumes will do for Rama Pir."
Like her, the villagers are happy. Kanjibhai Rudabhai, 55, says proudly, "It's for real. There is no account of how many people come here daily." Abdul Razhak, a phatphatiya driver from Deri Pipaliya, adds: "Darshan karne bahut log atein hain. It was with their money that we erected the structure at the samadhi." Meanwhile, Vallabhbhai Haribhai, former sarpanch of Damrada who is permanently posted at Morwada "to provide refreshment to those coming for darshan" says, "You see all this people assembled here? People have come from as far as London."
All this seems a long way from the sleepy little town in dusty Junagadh, where people are yet to learn the basics of criminal law. No one knows how long Dera Pipaliya will remain in the spotlight, but Valji Bhagat will be happy to know that his death has given life to Deri Pipaliya.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
