Sai Baba, or "the Swami" as he is fondly known by his devotees, is difficult to describe as he is a number of things to a number of people. A God to some, a holy man to others, or simply an entertaining-looking fraudster, better known for his Afro hair and catchy mantras such as "Love All Serve All" (franchised by the Hard Rock Cafe restaurant chain).

Pick any day of the year to visit his ashram (Prashanthi Nilayam) at Puttaparthi and you are guaranteed to be fighting for space amongst tens of thousands of his (estimated) 18 million devotees, who congregate from all around the world to see their hero.

Given the usual hype surrounding his existence, the Swami's birthday always promises to be an astounding experience, on a rival scale to Gandhi's funeral half a century ago. Devotees in every country imaginable begin preparations well in advance to ensure that Puttaparthi and its barren surroundings will become an unprecedented haven of music, prayers and spiritual fervour. Hindus, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Jewish and Catholics alike will spend their valuable holiday time braving the chaos in order to renew their faith in this idiosyncratic spiritual leader.

If you want to make the most of the week-long celebrations, make sure that you book travel and accommodation well in advance of the mid-November kick off. Now is not too early - especially if you want a bed in the ashram itself. Otherwise, scores of guesthouses in Puttaparthi offer various types of accommodation, but beware of those eager to cash in on the excitement who crank up the prices to an extortionate degree (and of those hastily built for the celebrations).