First-person testimony · Part II
Somanath Shankar Deshpande
Context
The Deshpande surname connects Somanath to Madhavrao Deshpande — known as Shama — Baba's closest writing-companion and intimate devotee. Shama's biography is a separate Sit With Sai page: Madhavrao Deshpande (Shama). The Deshpande family had multiple Shirdi connections, including Shama's younger brother Bapaji (the bubonic-plague cure of Chapter 34).
About the 1936 statement
Somanath's 1936 statement at page 186 of Part II preserves the broader Deshpande-family witness.
Cross-references in the Shri Sai Satcharitra:Ch. 23 — Shama's snake-biteCh. 34 — Bapaji's wife's plague
Primary source: B. V. Narasimha Swami, Devotees' Experiences of Sri Sai Baba, Part II.
Full text: PDF on saibaba.us (Section03) · HTML index on literature.saibaba.com
This page on Sit With Sai documents the witness, their context within the Satcharitra (where applicable), and provides direct links to the public-domain full statement. All quoted speech attributed to Sai Baba on this page is verbatim from documented Satcharitra sources or the 1936 collection itself — no quotation has been invented.
Full text: PDF on saibaba.us (Section03) · HTML index on literature.saibaba.com
This page on Sit With Sai documents the witness, their context within the Satcharitra (where applicable), and provides direct links to the public-domain full statement. All quoted speech attributed to Sai Baba on this page is verbatim from documented Satcharitra sources or the 1936 collection itself — no quotation has been invented.