... it was 1130 when we 'entered' the Shirdi city... and soon we were chased by the parking attendants... Ajay kept on saying park closer to the entrance and i cudn't see any... however soon we spotted the gate to the temple... and parked in the 'parking area' ... basically it is just some open space with a dangerously open pit on one side... and since the mobile phones are 'banned' inside ... it was MG's hand bag that came handy... another instance why women need such a big bag...for more insight read this...
... "sir jaldi kijiye bara baje ki aarti shuru hone wali hai" ... we were told... i glanced at my watch 1145... also we were supposed to remove our shoes... first thought was to leave them in taxi... and then this guy at the shop volunteered to keep them in his shop... MG decided to keep her socks on... later we realised she did the intelligent thing... actually it was the moment we stepped out of the shop we knew she did the intelligent thing ...
... Ajay and I were all OOH! AAH! ... "Gate kahan hai??" ... apparently we parked in pretty good place... all we had to do was cross the road... however the hot asphalt made those 30 seconds one of the longest and perhaps the most painful ones ... at least in the recent memories... "why do we need such wider roads" was the thought that crossed my mind for a second... i know it was silly thought... but then i was walking on sizzling tarmac! ... now i wonder why they can't build a decent covered over head walk way...
... anyways... we were in the queue and that was comforting enough... i am still impressed by the arrangement they have done for the devotees coming in such large numbers... i mean... multi stories hallways with fans and LCD screens and coolers... it is very elaborate and very well thought of... the blistering heat outside was quickly forgotten...
... the 'darshan' we got was very satisfying... and i can't add more to that... soon we were in the open space ... and next was second round of our 'paapon ki dhulai' ... we came out and landed right on the cemented pavement... oh! i forgot to mention! ... the HOT pavement! ... only this time it was painful... every continuous run was of 5 meters... and Ajay and I were feeling the heat... and literally... while MG couldn't stop smiling!...
... anyways... we reached our Taxi... and we were sweating like pigs... and then started our return journey... the third round of one memorable trip... keep reading... :)
I keep listening to Shirdi stories from a friend...it was one of the places I always wanted to go to...along with Ajmer-e-shareef, Haji Ali and Golden Temple....I have been to the other three but plan never worked out for Shirdi.
ReplyDeleteI am sure next time you would do this intelligent thing too :P