Like me there are millions of devotees who just could not contradict the popular belief and they end up crowding the place for whole 11 days of the Raja's tenure so we have to find a time when there is not much rush and it'll take our visit the shortest time....So on Monday morning me, my sis, jeeju and couple of friends took the first local in the morning to go to this place.... and after that I even had to come to pune so had all my normal things like camera were with me.. At Lalbaugcha raja there are 2 lines, Mannat and the Mukhdarshan lines ... and the Mukhdarshan line offers a really nice view of raja.... From the line itself you can pray, admire or capture Raja...The desperate me asked for the obvious to the god... I had my SLR so i started taking photos of Ganpati and the surroundings... just then I saw my sis trying to convey something to me.... I had no clue what that was... So just to stop looking confused and stupid, I started looking around and just then I found what my sis was pointing at.... I spotted "Her"... She was just standing next to me....
She was in my school.. and was and still definitely is a babe.... she was into singing so she participated in one of the reality shows and became a celebrity ... I was shocked to see her in the ordinary line and alone, on her own.... Not much of a celebrity now, Is she?? ... My sarcastic myself thought.... But suddenly don't know what came over me ... I did something which even surprised myself as I am never proactive when it comes to girls.... I said "Excuse me, Hi, Are you Monica??"... "Yeah".... "I was in your school" "Ohh, I cant recall you" Cant blame her for that , I was a true nerd in school and we nerds are blessed with the ability to be invisible to most of the babes.... All those thoughts I kept to myself as that's kinda my way of flirting with a hint of sarcasm and I wasn't here to flirt.... So i introduced her to my friends and she recognized one of them.... So what next?? the girls started the usual chatter and I went back to my Camera....
The line was progressing and we went and finally we had Darshan and we came out of the heavy fortification around the Raja... People now were bit relaxed and started recognizing her.... So suddenly she felt an urge to return back to her home now ... She was going to Mahim... so she asked us if she could drop us anywhere... That was useful to noone except me cause i was going to Dadar which was on her way... but till that moment the usual me was back again.... may be now that i wasn't in front of the Raja.... So as usual I was reluctant to go with her... She then bid us good bye and caught a cab and left for her home...
Now everyone looked shocked.... I turned down a lift by a babe... My friends who had nothing to do with dadar wanted to go with her.. But I was firm .... I had my reasons.. Am still trying to figure them out but even if you take wrong decisions you have to justify them... So I did just that... but the persistence shown by my friends, sis and jeeju eventually made me regret my refusal very deeply..... They had just one thing to say.... "We know what you asked for to Raja and when god offered you with his such good opportunity you turned your back on it.....".... Frankly if god presented me with such an expensive gift.... then I am allergic to such expensive gifts.... may be that's way it should have been... Or May be they were right.... God can give me a gift but it's all left to me to open that gift .... I hate this confusion... what else it did .... I could not sleep for even once in the Volvo in my journey from Mumbai to Pune....
Finally after a sleepless night.... and a sleepless journey.... here's the conclusion.....There are no good or bad experiences.... just the lessons to be learnt from them....I believe I learned my lessons.... So for the next opportunity... I leave it to the Raja... May be opportunities never knock the door twice or may be another opportunity is just on the way....Till then....
गणपती बाप्पा मोरया
पुढच्या वर्षी लवकर या .....
