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Lucknow. At one place birth, at the second place about 12 years of sadhana, at the third place the story of Hanuman temple and the construction of the bridge to it, while at the fourth place Mahasamadhi. The story of Baba Neem Karauli is so connected to Firozabad, Farrukhabad, Lucknow and Vrindavan of Uttar Pradesh that now the government is connecting these four places into a spiritual circuit. On Mahasamadhi Day, UP Tourism Department has also started five special tour packages to Baba. About Rs 12.93 crore is being spent on the development of tourism facilities in Firozabad and Farrukhabad. This is not just a plan to connect temples. The government is preparing to bring forward the four big chapters of Baba's life – birth, penance, Hanuman devotion and Mahasamadhi in a single journey.

Akbarpur village of Firozabad district is considered to be the birthplace of Baba Neem Karori. His ancestral house is also connected to this area. UP Tourism Department has started the work of developing Akbarpur as the birthplace of Baba. Rs 8.65 crore has been spent on the first phase, while work on the second phase project worth Rs 2.22 crore is underway. It is targeted to be completed by December 2026.

Baba's worldly journey begins

Apart from this, a rural tourism project worth Rs 55.44 lakh is also proposed. This is the first stop from where Baba's worldly journey began. Later, he adopted the path of spiritual practice other than household life and devotion to Hanuman became his identity. Now in Akbarpur, the government is trying to connect the places to Baba's ancestral and birthplace with such facilities, so that the devotee coming here not only has darshan, but can also understand the early life of Baba and the beginning of his spiritual journey.

Penance and from here the identity of 'Neem Karauli'

The strongest chapter of Baba's story connects to Neem Karauli Dham located near Sankisa, Farrukhabad. According to the district administration, this is Baba's penance place. Here the ancient Hanuman temple and the holy cave are the main places associated with his spiritual practice. Baba had meditated in the underground cave of this ashram for about 12 years. This is why Farrukhabad is considered the most important stop on Baba's spiritual journey. Even today devotees from all over the country and abroad come here. There is a tradition of offering a bell to Hanumanji when the wish is fulfilled and aarti is performed in the morning and evening. The district administration also records Neem Karauri Dham by connecting it with Baba's meditation, cave and Hanuman temple.

Baba was removed from the train, the train did not run again

A very famous story of Baba is also to Farrukhabad. Devotees and local tradition say that Baba was once deboarded from a train near Neem Karauli station for traveling without a ticket. Baba came down and sat there. After this an attempt was made to start the train, but it did not move forward. According to the story, the railway employees requested Baba to board the train again. After Baba boarded the train, the train started. Devotees still remember this incident as Baba's Siddhi or Leela.

That story of Hanuman Setu and the bridge

The next big stop in Baba's story is Hanuman Setu of Lucknow. This is where one of the most famous local traditions to Baba's Hanuman devotion comes to the fore.

According to the popular story, the work of bridge construction on Gomti river was getting stuck again and again. The pillars were not able to hold and there were continuous problems in the construction. During this time, the matter of construction of Hanuman temple came to light from Baba's side. It is believed that only after the process of temple construction progressed, the way for the construction of the bridge was cleared. Today Hanuman Setu Temple is the main religious identity of Lucknow and is said to be to the legacy of Hanuman devotion of Baba Neem Karauli.

Life journey completed by attaining Mahasamadhi in 1973

The last stop of the circuit is Vrindavan. Baba took Mahasamadhi here in the year 1973. His Samadhi temple is still the main center of faith for Baba's followers. In this way Vrindavan becomes not the end of Baba's story, but the next chapter of his spiritual legacy. The journey starting from the birthplace Akbarpur, passes through the Sadhana of Farrukhabad and Hanuman Bhakti of Lucknow and reaches the Mahasamadhi of Vrindavan.

Why did the government take this step?

The UP government is now developing these places associated with Baba as an organized spiritual tourism circuit instead of separate religious places. Development of the birthplace at Akbarpur, ashram and tourist facilities at Farrukhabad, modern exhibition hall based on the life and spiritual journey of Baba, cultural block, dining hall, cafeteria, kitchen, toilets and accommodation for about 60 people are being developed.

A project worth about Rs 1.51 crore has been completed in Farrukhabad. UPSTDC has also started a special tour package in the name of Baba. An official package offers a five-day, four-night route of Lucknow-Farrukhabad-Mainpuri-Sirsaganj-Firozabad-Agra-Mathura-Vrindavan-Lucknow.