Two spiritual temple runs: part 1:

Two consequent Sunday runs ended with darshan / god’s blessings…

Last Sunday Sidhivinayak and today at Harekrishna temple at Juhu ( irony is i am not a very kriya-kandi or regular temple devotee…. Only temples i am willing and usually go are the temples   serving the needs of local /rural India…

Especially temples of tamilnadu, Karnataka and interior Maharashtra where abhangs /Kirtans /  bhajans are sung by local folks after the day’s hard work… Language does not matter… So whenever i am touring a sugar factory or cement factory in interior parts of India, i try to find and  visit nearby temple in late evening or even early morning)

Sidhivinayak run was smooth and climate was some what better as compared to Harekrishna run of today… During Sidhivinayak run i could change pace and was with different friends…. I could share a little bit of my experience of Vipasana with Sonal, Kashmira, Arjun and Kaushik bhai… Did not want to bore others with mind and matter Philosophy of Vipasana.   Just before andheri saw gathering of muslims on both the side of roads with a lot many women on one side… Wanted to stop and do little chatting but realised i was part of a group run so told the curious mind to relax. after andheri my run was almost with savio. There were some walk breaks which came too near to the  car breaks and to avoid the tempo/mood loss we continued… I have realised that savio basically does not need many walk breaks and he is quite flexible with walkbreak frequency .

Throughout the run anant sir ‘s large hearted initiative of exclusive car for support along with ever concerned Nitesh ( driver) was a great blessing… It made the run smooth

Sidhivinayak is the aradhya Dev for millions… Money wise it May have more money than many of the  ashta vinayak put together… So there are different lines….. Lines devoted to money power…for annual pass holders.. Special lift entry to garbhsthan for VIP s.
We were in que and soon we had  the darshan which could not last more than one minute (that also when you are good with your elbow power and ignore instructions of the volunteers and security persons …)

Outside we paid for prasad and came out… Post run usually everyone is in hurry so every one disappeared fast, but Ankur was with me, fresh, smiling  as if we were about to start our  run post darshan! . I had asked him in the morning to join me for Shivaji park gharghuti marathi nashta. Inbetween i got tempted to join suvendu for taxi ride all the way to home (as my home is bang on highway) better sense prevailed and  we walked down the distance till Shivaji park. Utekar nashtawala was not there, so we walked more towards cadel road side to reach the Maruti van of murudkar’s  Shri Sai samarth nashta and had kanda pohe, sabudana khichadi and tak….

Usually taciturn with me Ankur started talking and narrated  cases of his clients and their traits…. So from matoshri to Satish Shah to Smita thakare intersting stories started  flowing. At Dadar opposite nakshatra mall we had lassi from the place which has not changed a bit since many many years. Fast Virar was chosen to reach home faster…. Continues….

Part II:                        The run to support Ankur’ s 32 km, around 20 plus friends are  at Mac D.

Ajit wants to know how many more registrations are pending for this year, before i can answer that this is just to inspire more for outstation run participation
Run begins at 5 am sharp and soon we are at linking road… Link road eventhough very wide is actually a stink road at many places. We are a group where there are different themes.  32 km run, 21 km time trial, 9 km to and fro,  10.5 km to and fro, run must end in a such a way that i am home with milk just in time ( meeting home minister’s expectation), 18.5 km run target…. Only odd man out is me… Who does not have any target… I am just running… All i know is i have to be in my office by 9 / 9:30 for the meeting with my account staff to fine tune year closing accounts files. (Cruel of me to spoil someone’s Sunday)

At malad the first fajr azan from a not so big masjid fills the air waves…

(Reminds me of my childhood where day’s first azan was also a kind of morning alarm for us… More intersting were the sehri announcements during ramzan month….)

Ankur is doing to and fro running between fast pace runners and slow runners… He is more like running khabari…. At malad savio joins…. Punitbhai decides to add his trade mark sincerity to time trial of Arjun and soon Arjun has two Krishnas  for today…. Punitbhai and savio to remind and motivate him for his true dharma for today…. Surprisingly sanjay and i do not interact much during run (  May be he had enough the last time) At inorbit Kaushik bhai says ‘ o teri – we are five minutes earlier than the targeted time…. ‘ i just smile at him… Folks his on the spot sense of humour makes today’s race memorable ( by this time i hope every one knows about his inner struggle of his natural fast  pace and this year’s his new gyan of anerobic/aerobic ( can’t recall the word) slow pace. He keeps promising slower pace…. “Phir aaj usne vada kiya, aur aaj phir uspe hamein yakeen aaya…” The long road from oshiwara till saurashtra circle takes me back to my memory lane when for more than four years this was my work zone. Lotus petrol pump is fully lighted and decorated as if on the clue of…. “So many cars… Ab ki baar Modi sarkar…. ” Work place area… Ankur joins me at jvpd ,  tells me about all the bungalows and some of the clients…

We are now together virtually till end of my run. Opposite to Yashraj old office road the urge to run on beach triggers… Kaushikbhai is requested and he agrees… Punitbhai is on time trial (otherwise  also he is a clockwork precision runner who believes in predefined strategy/policy and will not like  deviate. His runs are of a genuine devotee. His style will take him far on his  long journey of ultra marathons… May force be with him)
At beach we have group photo. Now we are in the different world… Away from cement roads, pavement blocks and pollution due to vehicles. Colourful people all around. As usual females  more conscious and hence more presentable… On the otherside men are represented by One Sardarji who is running not wearing anything except one langoti… Narayan Rane is on his morning walk with his paraphenelia, some north Indians are performing saptami (!?) Of navratri… But add we are running the question is avoided. At Godrej bungalow we exit from Ruia park. Ankur joins me at Harekrishna temple for much needed break. He leaves as he has to meet kaushikbhai and team at the main gate.
I choose one corner and start my post run exercises. For more than once Harekrishna devotees come near me with amused look and i respond smiling with loud chants of hare Rama hare Krishna.
Soon it is the darshan time, so post thorough hands and legs wash i am inside… It seems to be one of the appropriate time… On continues chants many devotees are dancing in rhythm…. So i join them for few minutes. It is a different kind of experience immediately after post  22 km run… Post darshan ( which is at cool pace) it is prasad time and today being Sunday it is the special sheera . In popular temples Harekrishna, swaminarayan and birla temples are spacious, clean and organised… Harekrishna also has added attraction fir foodies….. Post darshan i reach directly my office ( combination of auto and bus) seeing me in running gear, staff gets reassurance that i was actually running and not coming from home… We work till lunch, in the meantime overall phone calls coordinate the big screen T20 finals in our society for the evening.

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