Spiritual leader Sri Sathya Sai Baba's last rites took place at the Prashanti Nilayam ashram in his home town of Puttaparthi today. The burial was not open to the general public, but giant screens erected around the town were showing live footage of the event for the vast crowds of followers who have converged on Puttaparthi. Only family members, some members of the Prashanti Nilayam Trust and some important leaders gathered there were inside Kulwant Hall.
Sai Baba has been buried in the same hall - the Kulwant Hall in the ashram - where his casket was kept for darshan. Ten priests conducted the private funeral.
The spiritual leader, loved by millions, passed away on Sunday after cardio-respiratory failure aged 84. Since then, his body has lain inside a transparent casket to allow grieving devotees, including poor villagers, foreign pilgrims and celebrities, to pay their respects.