Prayagraj: In this age of spiritual fervour during the ongoing Mahakumbh in Prayagraj, no one would have expected a man clad only in a skimpy shawl and bathing in the Ganga to attract the same amount of attention on social media as ‘the bareness’ of an anchor recently did. ‘Popularly’ tagged ‘IITian Baba’ Abhay Singh is a newfound sensation who attracts pilgrims and inquisitive spectators alike with his curious cocktail of technical skill set and spiritual knowledge.
An aerospace engineering graduate of one of India’s most respected universities, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mumbai, Singh gave up a lucrative career to lead a life of spirituality. At least in one recent interview with ABP News, he has made startling claims about his prophetic ability and specifically named two phenomena he says he predicted in advance.
“A long time ago, I predicted Surya Kumar Yadav would become a star in T20 cricket; he would score a century, but there was this neighbour who would always shout, shouting something at me, and due to that, it didn’t really actually happen the full way,” Singh said. He also revealed he also helped chess prodigy D Gukesh visualise what he would do in his world championship match.
The self-proclaimed seer predicts all due to divine intervention. I don’t understand it, but it is from above. At the top sits Mahadev, the Lord Shiva, who oversees all. Singh said, ‘I just follow the navigation, as people follow GPS directions.’
Singh, originally from Haryana, continues to baffle many with his journey from a highly paid job at a major corporation to one of asceticism. Before throwing himself headlong into spirituality, however, he briefly pursued photography after realising a search for photography’s meaning in life.
Though millions of devotees continue to stream to Mahakumbh, Singh’s presence lends an interesting contemporary angle to the millennia-old religious gathering, where technology meshes with tradition.