IITian Baba Ties the Knot: Aerospace Engineer-Turned-Ascetic Reveals Secret Marriage
Abhay Singh, who shot to fame at Prayagraj Mahakumbh 2025 in saffron robes, has married fellow engineer Pratika — and the couple now plans to build a ‘Sanatan University’ in the Himalayas
Abhay Singh, the IIT Bombay-trained aerospace engineer who became a viral sensation after appearing as a self-styled ascetic at the Prayagraj Mahakumbh earlier this year, has confirmed he is now a married man. The 36-year-old, widely known as “IITian Baba,” revealed on Monday that he wed Pratika — a Karnataka-born engineer — on February 15 at the Aghanjhar Mahadev Temple in Himachal Pradesh, with a court marriage following on February 19.
The couple made their public appearance together in Jhajjar, Haryana, Singh’s hometown, where they visited a bank to update KYC documents and add Pratika as nominee — before heading to the chamber of his father, advocate Karan Singh.
“We are both happy in our lives. We are living simply right now,” Singh told Dainik Bhaskar. The pair currently reside in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh.
Pratika, who described her husband as honest and straightforward by nature, said the two met a year ago and share a common spiritual vision. “We are thinking of building a Sanatan University where gurus and spiritual seekers can unite in one place,” she said.
Singh’s journey from a high-flying career — he once drew a salary of ₹3 lakh a month working at an aircraft manufacturing company in Canada — to saffron robes has been anything but conventional. After returning to India following the 2021 lockdown, he gradually drifted toward spirituality, eventually joining a guru at Kashi before making his way to the Mahakumbh.
His time at the Kumbh was not without controversy. He was expelled from the Juna Akhada in January 2025 over allegations of using inappropriate language against his guru on social media. In March, he was involved in a physical altercation during a TV debate in Noida, and was also briefly detained by Jaipur Police on charges of possessing cannabis — which he claimed was held as religious “prasad,” not for personal use.
Despite the turbulence, Singh appears to have found a new chapter — one that blends his spiritual inclinations with domestic life and an ambitious educational vision.
