Dattatreya Deshpande Nimonkar was born in December 1917. He is Nana Saheb Nimonkar’s nephew. His ancestors hailed from Nimongaon and hence they were called by the surname “Nimonkar”. They belong to “Deshpande” Community. Nimongaon is about 20 miles away from Shirdi.

His grandfather Nana Saheb Nimonkar was Madhavrao Deshpande’s (Shama’s) paternal uncle. Shama and his ancestors also hailed from Nimongaon. When Shama was 2 years old they moved to Shirdi. Balwantrao (Shama’s father) brought Nana Saheb Nimonkar to have Saibaba’s darshan and after that Nana Saheb Nimonkar left his hometown Nimongaon along with his wife and stayed on in Shirdi and made Shirdi his hometown till Mahasamadhi of Saibaba.

During December 1917, plague was playing havoc in Poona. Hence, Somanath (Nana Saheb Nimonkar’s son) decided to go to Nimongaon along with his 2 year old son Gopal Rao. On the way they stopped at Shirdi for Baba’s darshan. When they were leaving Shirdi, Baba gave them Udi and said “Pora la jiv lav” (save the child). Somnath thought that Baba had blessed his child Gopal Rao and hence he gave him some Udi.

They reached Nimongaon and found Dattatreya at death’s door. The child, only 12 days old, was blue and cold, and was gasping for air. It was then that Somnath realized that Baba had given him Udi to save Dattatreya’s life. Frantically he searched for the Udi. But it was lost during the journey. Somnath took the child and sent a fervent prayer to Baba to save the child.  Baba came to his aid and after 15 minutes, the body temperature returned to normal, the breathing grew steady and the baba’s condition improved. The child was thus named “Datta” (i.e., God’s gift).

Dattatreya was a bright student and studied upto 7th standard in Marathi medium school. He participated in all the activities of the village and as his civic duty he voted during the elections. He owned vast acres of land, and he made a living by farming.

He passed away peacefully on 11th January 2012.

His Daughter-In-Law and her two children are staying in Dattatreya's Ancestral House at Nimon.

Daughter-in-Law of Dattatreya Deshpande Nimonkar along with Grand Children

Pooja Place at Datta's House at Nimon

We can also see a Cradle which is from the time of Nana Saheb Nimonkar in this ancestral house.

Cradle at Datta's House at Nimon

(Source: Baba’s Vani by Sai Bhakta Vinny Chitluri; Photo Courtesy:Shri.Nagaraj Sham, Pune)