Bayajabai, who served Baba Bhiksha throughout his life in Shirdi

Right up to his last days, Baba used to beg for his food. He usually confined his bhiksha rounds to the same five houses which were all within a few metres of Dwarkamai, and went several times a day. On rare occasions when he was unable to go himself, Baba sent someone in his place. Baba would stand outside and call for bread, but he never went into the houses. Baba collected the food all together in a cloth bag and any liquids in a tin mug, then took it back to Dwarkamai. He would offer some at the dhuni and empty the rest into a pot (the kolamba) by the fire, where any creature could take from it. Only later would Baba eat a small amount himself.

Baba on His biksha rounds, c 1916

The first two houses Baba used to go to were those of Vaman Gondkar and Vaman Sakharam Shelke, beside the Chavadi. Both were wealthy landowners. These two substantial houses were demolished in 2001, though the small Narasimha Temple beside them, with its three little samadhis, still stands.
Vaman Gondkar's house appears in one of the leelas in the Sri Sai Satcharitra. Hemadpant narrates that one day at noon, Baba suddenly got up and went and stood near Radhakrishnayi's place and asked some men to bring a ladder and lean it against the wall of Gondkar's house. Baba then climbed up, walked over the roof and the adjacent one (which was Radhakrishnayi's), got them to move the ladder there, and then climbed down again. As Hemadpant says, "No one could understand this mystery." For one thing, "Baba could only walk if two people on either side of him supported him. When he himself was so feeble, from where did this strength come?" Secondly, for this small service, Baba paid the owner of the ladder the then princely sum of two rupees! When asked about this, Baba simply replied that we should never take anybody's labour for free. It so happened though, that the owner of the ladder later prospered and had two sons, having been childless until then. Villagers also wondered if Baba had done something for Radhakrishnayi's benefit, as she had been suffering from malaria at the time.

Bayajabai, who
served Baba Bhiksha
throughout his life in
Shirdi

The next houses Baba went to on his rounds were also very close to each other those of Bayajabai (Tatya's mother), and Bayaji Appa Kote Patil (in whose arms Baba passed away). They are just beyond Narasinh Lodge opposite Ithiraj Hotel (its sign is in Hindi only), around the corner from what is currently Saikkon Colour Laboratory. It was in this area that the photo of Baba on his begging rounds was taken. Bayajabai's family later moved to a bigger house a few metres away behind Mahalaxmi Temple. This has been converted into a hotel and is now known as Bayajabai Guesthouse.
Finally, Baba used to go to the house of the local money-lender, Nandaram Marwari. This is in the lane between Dwarkamai and Gurusthan behind what is now the Madras Hotel. Like the other families to whom Baba went for bhiksha, this one was devoted to Baba and, also like the others, received many blessings from him. Baba sometimes went to all or any of these houses more than a dozen times a day (later the number of daily visits became fewer). In the case of Nandaram's wife, Baba would sometimes shout and heap abuse on her if she was slow in preparing the offering. Nandaram's descendants are still living in part of this house, which has been extended; the rest of it has been turned into a lodge.

Bayajabai house. It is said that baba used to stand on the stone
seen in front of the door

On Vijayadasami, as part of the annual celebrations, Baba's bhiksha routine is ritualistically re-enacted by devotees. The Participants are selected by lottery and taken ceremoniously in the procession to the five houses, via Dwarkamai, starting at the Samadhi Mandir.