MUMBAI, INDIA, September 05, 2011 (Mid-Day.com): Pilgrims have endured a 16-hour wait in line for a glimpse of Ganapati at Lalbaugcha Raja.
Devotees queueing up at Abhudya Nagar in the Navasachi line–for devotees who seek Ganapati’s blessings to obtain specific goals–at 2:00 pm Saturday received their glimpse of Ganesha only at 6:00 am Sunday.
The authorities had thoughtfully lined the queue with chairs, since the line failed to move for hours at a stretch. Devotees did what they could to help one another. For awhile, a group of college students entertained the other devotees with songs and dances. Devotees who had brought tea shared it with others. Sometime after 7:30 pm, in the twelfth row, volunteers served a welcome snack of poha; and at 2:30 am Sunday, separated from the pandal by only ten more divisions and a bridge, devotees found clean toilets.
Children in the queue became exhausted and wept copiously. A class III student, Aditya Pai, persevered: “I came here to see Lord Ganapati, and I won’t sleep a wink until I see him. I am a strong boy.”
At precisely 6 am, the devotees in this part of the queue obtained their glimpse of Ganapati.
Rajendra Lanjwal, treasurer of the Mandal, later explained, “You received darshan after the protracted wait because we had shut the VIP entry. The distance from Kalachowki to the Lord’s feet is a good 12 km.”