The focus has shifted out of Puttaparthi and the attention is on a small village called Doddamallur which lies between Channapatna and Maddur around 90 kilometres away from Bangalore. Doddamallur will play a significant part in the days to come since this has been the village that has been identified by Sathya Sai Baba to be the place where next incarnation Prema Sai Baba will be born.
Doddamallur is a town around 100 kilometres away from Bangalore and with the death of Baba and the reincarnation stories doing the rounds, a great deal of interest has already been generated in this small village. This sleepy hamlet has had just one great story to tell in all these years and it was that Lord Rama had prayed at the Sri Apremeya of Shri Ambegalu Shri Krishna temple in the very same village before he set out to Lanka to battle Ravana.
There was a great deal of confusion regarding this place where stories of Prema Sai Baba were concerned. Earlier it was being said that he would be born in a village called Gunaparthi near Mandya, but now it is official according to many that the reincarnation would happen at Doddamallur. The villagers are in a frenzy over here and they say there could not be better news that a reincarnation of Baba will be born in their village. They are aware that if this happens then their village will become hugely important and what is more they all believe that God will be born in their village.
Prema Sai Baba according to the discourses given by Sathya Baba would be the third and the last incarnation of Sai Baba, the first being Shiridi Sai Baba. Baba had said during his discourse that he would reincarnate as Prema Sai at this village near the Shri Ambegalu Krishna temple. This has also been documented in a book written by a lady by the name Kannamma who herself is a great devotee of Sathya Sai Baba. She has quoted Baba on this point and this has in turn turned out to be a document.
Now, will Prema Sai be born or is this just a myth only time will tell. But the fact remains that the hunt has already begun. The first time that a search began for Prema Sai’s parents was five years ago. A team had been dispatched from Puttaparthi to find out if a lady by the name Kasthuri existed in this village. According to Baba this lady would be the mother of Prema Sai. However at that time they were sent back by the villagers stating that there was no such happening.
The people from Puttaparthi have been showing a great deal of interest in Doddamallur. What is more ironical is that two months back, Baba himself had dispatched a team of at least 700 members to Doddamallur. The villagers were a bit taken aback to see such a large contingent. These people who came down from Puttaparthi headed straight to the temple at Doddamallur and offered ‘Laksharchana’ and ‘Kumkumarchana’ pujas, which were conducted for nearly 10 hours. Chairman of this temple trust, Venu confirmed this fact.Venu goes on to add that this is a moment that they are all waiting for. They have no reason to believe that this will not happen and the whole village thinks that the prophecy by Baba will come true. Now everyday all the people in the village speak about it and there is kind of a frenzy that has been built up. Venu goes on to add that there has been a lot of activity in his village and the people from Puttaparthi are keeping a constant watch. Yesterday too there were some people from the Sathya Sai Baba camp who were making inquiries over here, Venu explains.
But when Venu was reminded that as per the prophecy Prema Sai would be born in 2024, he said that there is no clarity on that. What we were given to understand is that there is no date specified for the birth of Prema Sai and so it could happen anytime in the near future. Moreover the age factor which is being debated was also clarified to us. We were given to understand that Sathya Sai Baba will live on till the age at 85 and it would be Prema Sai who will live 96 years.
The villagers of Doddamallur are however expecting something very special to happen very soon. One may call it a case of being gullible, the faith among the people is very strong and they are waiting for this to happen.
Venu says that till date the parents of Prema Sai have not been identified as yet. There is no such preparation also being made. We expect the people from Puttaparthi to come down and identify Prema Sai for us. Although we are on the look out for the possible parents of Prema Sai, we would still wait for the people from Puttaparthi to do the needful. All they have told us is to inform them if they find something strange or a miracle which is bound to happen around the Shri Ambegala Krishna temple.
Vicky Nanjappa 
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