Superstar Rajinikanth heads to Kumaon hills to fulfill a promise

DEHRADUN: There is anticipation in the air, as well as nervous excitement in the quaint hamlet of Dunagiri nestled in the

Kumaon Himalayas

, almost 55 km from Ranikhet.

On Friday, after superstar cum recently-turned politician Rajinikanth’s Chennai-based publicist Riaz K Ahmed posted a one-line tweet “Thalaivar is going to

Himalayas

, the news is confirmed,” the message reverberated thousands of kilometres away in Dunagiri where people had been waiting for this confirmation for several months.

The entrance to

Mahavatar Babaji

's cave near Dunagiri

Last year, a meditation centre that the superstar helped build along with a few of his friends near Dunagiri — reportedly at a cost of Rs 1 crore — was opened for meditators. Rajinikanth was expected to attend the inauguration, a mega event for the area, but could not make it.

He had conveyed to disappointed locals through his friends that he will be visiting the area in March, a promise that he is believed to be fulfilling now. “We were really looking forward to seeing Rajini sahab when the meditation centre was opened. But we were told that he had to cancel his trip unexpectedly. He promised to come in March and we are hoping that he arrives soon,” said GC Joshi, who runs a dhaba in Dunagiri and claims to have served the legendary actor his favourite food of rice and dal as well as unspiced Maggi noodles during his earlier visits.

Rajinikanth’s connection with Dunagiri goes back several decades. The superstar is a devotee of Mahavatar Babaji, a mystic Himalayan yogi regarded by many as a ‘deathless guru’ who has been keeping a youthful form for several centuries and is said to be still wandering in the Himalayas. A cave believed to have been occupied by the yogi, situated almost an hour’s trek from Kukuchina near Dunagiri, has been a favourite spot for the legendary actor who comes here occasionally to meditate. Rajinikanth was introduced to kriya yoga — a meditative technique that followers of Mahavatar Babaji practice — by a Delhi-based businessman friend. The superstar is believed to have credited the practice of the technique in bringing positive changes in his life. In 2002, he also made a film ‘

Baba

’ inspired by his spiritual guru.

While the actor left Chennai on Saturday morning — he told fans at the airport that he will be away for two weeks without specifying his exact destination — speculation continued in Dunagiri on when he would reach the hamlet. Monks at the Yogada Satsang Math at Dwarahat (around 20 km away from Dunagiri) — the organisation which administers the meditation centre that Rajini helped build — refused to comment on his visit saying they are “not privy to the actor’s travel plans.” A lodge owner in Dwarahat who did not wish to be named said that “people of the area are obviously excited at the news but we do not wish to speak too much about it as excessive publicity might prevent the actor from carrying out his visit.” “A few days back, an associate of Rajini sahab from Bengaluru visited the area. He told those administering the meditation centre that Rajini ji will be stopping at an ashram in Rishikesh for a few days before deciding on his further plans, and that he wished to keep the visit as low-profile as possible. We respect his privacy and hope that he doesn’t have to change his plans and gets to keep his promise.”
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