A portrait of Pant Maharaj, a 19 th century saint from Balekundri village, now adorns the art gallery at the Sambra Airport in Belagavi.
This is a tribute to the proponent of Avadhut Navanath philosophy who spoke of the need for love for all humans, in his books Datta Prema Lahari and Prema Tarang.
Apart from a brief biographical detail about the seer, the 64 sq ft image contains a road map and directions to Balekundri, that is just four kilometres away from the airport.
A contemporary of Swami Vivekananda, Pant Maharaj was a proponent of spiritualism devoid of strict rituals. People from various castes visit his Samadhi and temple at Balekundri. Thousands from across Karnataka and Maharashtra gather at the annual festival in December.
Pant Maharaj was born in 1855 and passed away in 1905. He worked as a teacher in Belagavi for some years, before becoming a monk. He considered Sri Balmukund and Sri Kallappa Maharaj as his Gurus.
Pant Maharaj chronicled his experiences of meditation in his books and essays. He met Swami Vivekananda when the latter visited Belagavi in 1892.
th/Belagavi