Jai Hind...Jai Maharashtra!!!

To Adarniya Politicianjee,

Today, as all of you get ready to grab the limelight, I am typing the following questions for you (so what if none of you read my blog). I still have hopes that you would answer me someday.

Q1: Almost every local political party claims to be based on Shivaji Maharaj's ideologies. If that's true then why do these so-called followers disrespect other religions and languages (never in my history lessons was it mentioned that Shivaji Maharaj disrespected other religions and communities, on the contrary he was known for his benevolent nature)

Q2: Why is the economic condition in Maharashtra so diverse. On one hand, you have Business Tycoons like Mukesh Ambani who have money to afford a yacht and to buy an IPL franchise; while on the other hand you have the poor Vidarbha Farmers committing suicide coz they are unable to meet their daily needs.

Q3. Can I be assured that the infrastructure and the security of the city would soon improve? Will Ajmal Kasab be sentenced to death on 3rd May? Will there be less traffic?

Q4: Who is a Marathi Manoos. Do you consider a person who has stayed in Mumbai for more than 10 years, who speaks marathi, has marathi friends, eats marathi dishes, contributes to the growth of the city and adores Asha Bhosle and Madhuri Dixit as Marathi manoos or does (s)he have to be born in a Maharashtrian Family to get that revered title? Does (s)he have to be scared that some day the political parties may again start the 'Lungi Hatao, Pungi Bhajao' Andolan and may kick them out from the place that they consider as their own.

I know you have no answers to these questions. So if answering the above questions seems to be difficult, then atleast reply to what the singer has asked in this song (sorry video is pretty amateur...but could not find a better video for this song on YouTube)

Waiting for forever for your answers....

Your's Truly,

Aam Junta....

P.S: for those who did not understand the song:

The literal translation of the song is: Oh lord which of these flags should I hold. You need not understand Marathi for this, the images in the video explains the song. I had heard it 2 months back and as my friend said the lyrics reflected the thoughts of many youngsters who did not know whom to follow, when the chacha-batija duo got split and Raj Thackeray, made his own party called Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (famously known as MNS).

Shirdi wale sai baba Aaya hain tere dar pe sawali

In my previous post, Bikramji asked me kii main aakhir kahan disappear ho gayi. Boss hum toh yahin hain. Thanks for reminding me that I have not posted anything for past one month.

Actually, I was affected by writer's block yet again and with no tags pending, I seriously could not come up with a topic to write about. Anyways, now that I have just returned from Shirdi, I have plenty of things to write about. Let me describe it point by point (you are not allowed to miss even a single point even if you are bored of reading this long so-called travelogue).

1. A sudden trip to Shirdi: I have been visiting Shirdi almost every year for Baba's darshan. I somehow find solace whenever I go there. There is something about the place that draws me there evrytime. With a lamba weekend (3 holidays back to back) and with some important decisions to be taken, mom and I decided to make a quick 9 hour trip to Shirdi to seek baba's blessings.

2. The nice and not so nice bus journey (Mumbai to Shirdi): We left on Thursday night. Like always we boarded the 8PM bus from Goregaon. The nice part of the journey was that there was a cute looking guy with deep dimples adding sobha to his chehra sitting behind me. He was chit chatting with me endlessly and we were laughing over silly of the silliest jokes. I had started dreaming of a dance sequence too, wherein, we both were doing salsa (the song was tera hone laga hoon from ajab prem kii gajab kahani). I was brought down to earth by my mom who realized that unki beti ki niyat kharab ho rahi hain. The not so nice part of the journey came when he called up his girlfriend and said loudly "jaanu tumhe aana chahiye tha, main tumhe miss kar raha hoon". Bas yeh sunke mera interest uthar gaya and I fell asleep.

3. The enchanting baba's darshan and the stupid public: Shirdi has become a hugely popular pilgrimage destination in India. After Tirupati and Vaishano Devi, lakhs of people flock to Shirdi to take baba's darshan. After taking a room in a decent hotel, mom and I freshened up and went to seek baba's darshan at 7 AM. We wanted to go for the 4AM aarti, but I was way too lazy to get up and go. I got good darshan of baba and was mesmerized by the enthu public who kept repeating "Om sai namoh namah, shri sai namoh namah". But what irked me was the indisciplined crowd that tried to break the lines and wriggle like a worm between two people standing for darshan. It was pretty bad of them to do so. In order to avoid people barging in between, we had to stand in close proximities, and I by mistake happend to kick the butt of a guy standing before me for darshan (luckily the guy did not file a case of adam teasing against me). I even told a lady that "baba sabko darshan denge aap zara line mein khade rahiye", but all my pleas fell on deaf ears. I sincerely hope that the Saibaba Trust takes a note of this and works towards bringing orderliness amongst the devotees.

Bolo Shri Satchitananda Sadguru Sainath Maharaj kii Jai!!!

4. A maha boring return journey (Shirdi to Mumbai): We took a return bus from Shirdi to Mumbai at 1PM on Friday. As I had returned after taking baba's darshan, I had decided to be a good girl and not get attracted to good looking guys. The moment I settled down in my seat, I plugged my ears, closed my eyes and listened to Rafi singing Shirdiwale Sai baba. Luckily there were no good looking guys in the bus to divert my attention. The buswala had put Akshay Kumar's Chandni Chowk to China. It was a 3 hour ordeal for me to watch a weird looking Deepika and equally boring Akshay Kumar making a fool of themselves, but somehow I did manage to put up with it. But aal izz well. The journey was smooth and we reached home safely.

5. Conclusion: I have come home refreshed with full of energy and with zeal to take right decsisions. I must admit, no matter how commercialized the place may have become, the simplicity of the local people and the magic of Shirdi is still visible. I suggest that whenever you make a trip to Maharashtra, don't forget to make a trip to Shirdi and if you are coming to Mumbai, don't forget to take my darshan :)

Will leave you with an awesome song from the movie Amar Akbar Anthony. I love this song (please ignore nirupama roy and her melodrama, just listen to the song).