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This year, though having got married earlier, we went there as a pair on March 16, 2008. The cost of the ticket for a non-AC bus from Mumbai to Shirdi is Rs. 200 per person. The bus that you take will halt at Nasik first. The bus can be taken from Teen Haath Naka, Thane or Amar Mahal at Chembur or from Dadar. Reaching Shirdi by bus from Mumbai takes you 6 1/2 to 7 hours. Once at Shirdi, if you want to stay while saving money, you can go to Bhakti Niwas (500 rooms) which is 10-15 minutes walking distance from Shirdi Sai Mandir. The locals there will never tell you that it is walking distance but will say that it is 1 km and will recommend that you take an auto. If you have luggage with you, you might as well agree. The auto fellow takes Rs. 20 as a standard rate for a very short distance. You can bargain with him for Rs. 15.
Mentally, I was saying, I can't live in fear everytime of everyone's bad wishes and that does not mean that I allow myself to get cheated in an unknown place.
We were back at our home in Mumbai at 6:00 pm.
My trip to Shirdi - March 2008
Posted by Venus E-Solve249Mar 21, 2008 | 1384 views
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More than a year ago, exactly on January 13, 2007, I had been to Shirdi as a single and found getting a room there very hard. Many there told me that singles are not entertained for a stay there as they commit suicides. After shelling out Rs. 500/-, I had managed to secure a room in a Shirdi guest house known by the name "Sai Ashish Guest House". That was in 2007 on the date mentioned.
This year, though having got married earlier, we went there as a pair on March 16, 2008. The cost of the ticket for a non-AC bus from Mumbai to Shirdi is Rs. 200 per person. The bus that you take will halt at Nasik first. The bus can be taken from Teen Haath Naka, Thane or Amar Mahal at Chembur or from Dadar. Reaching Shirdi by bus from Mumbai takes you 6 1/2 to 7 hours. Once at Shirdi, if you want to stay while saving money, you can go to Bhakti Niwas (500 rooms) which is 10-15 minutes walking distance from Shirdi Sai Mandir. The locals there will never tell you that it is walking distance but will say that it is 1 km and will recommend that you take an auto. If you have luggage with you, you might as well agree. The auto fellow takes Rs. 20 as a standard rate for a very short distance. You can bargain with him for Rs. 15.
When I went in March 2008, the bus halted in the temple lane where all of us were told to get off. It was night time then. I was looking to go towards Bhakti Niwas but had forgotten the name of the place. After a talk with one of the co-passengers in the bus, I knew that I had to ask for 500 rooms Hotel after getting off. After getting off, in the temple lane, I could not figure the way out at night.
At the same time, I was crowded by people wanting customers for their hotels and guest-houses. One man said, "Sai Ganesh Hotel, come with me". I insisted, that I want to go to 500 rooms hotel, but he did not tell me the way. So I went my way but could not figure out the way out of the temple lane at night, so after walking some distance, I walked back and found another boy saying "Sai Ganesh Hotel". This time I went with him. I reached the Sai Ganesh Hotel and found it quite "OK" from outside but I wanted to stay at the 500 rooms hotel while saving money. So I told him that I don't like it. We walked further. The boy and the man also was walking with us showed us a few more guesthouses and hotels but I refused them all. In between my wife had been criticizing me that having been here to Shirdi, I still don't know the way and am following two persons. Finally, they had no more to show and so led us to the main road and the boy recommended we take an auto.
He told an auto-driver first in the line of three to go to Bhakti Niwas. So my wife and I sat in the auto. He drove the auto slowly and in between was suggesting and showing a number of Hotels which were very conspicuous even without his showing them. Finally, I told him to drive faster and halt at Bhakti Niwas. Slowly, we reached Bhakti Niwas.
He told an auto-driver first in the line of three to go to Bhakti Niwas. So my wife and I sat in the auto. He drove the auto slowly and in between was suggesting and showing a number of Hotels which were very conspicuous even without his showing them. Finally, I told him to drive faster and halt at Bhakti Niwas. Slowly, we reached Bhakti Niwas.
After alighting he asked me for Rs. 20/- as the fare (mind you his auto did not have the metre and I did not know the cost of reaching Bhakti Niwas from Shirdi temple). So I said, "It should be Rs. 10/-". He insisted on Rs. 20 and I retorted that this is a 'lootmaar'. He suggested that I should ask someone the rate. There was a group of boys there entering Bhakti Niwas at that time. I asked one of them in a volume audible to the others and they all had no idea.
So I told the auto driver, "I am giving Rs. 10/-, if you want it you take it or you can leave". He demanded that I go to the police-station with him since I don't wish to pay.
Now in an unknown city/village, not knowing the ways and all his contacts with goondas, going to police station with him did not seem to be a good idea. So I said "kisi aur ko puchte hai". "I'll go inside (inside Bhakti Niwas entrance) and ask."
"Mein idhar khada hoon", he retorted. So I went in. There were 2 watchmen there and I asked them both. "Shirdi Sai Mandir se idhar aane ka auto mein kitna hota hai". And one of them said "15/-". The one who said that soon disappeared because I believe he saw someone there whom he had to avoid but the other watchman was still there.
I signalled the auto driver to come and he promptly came and I said it is Rs. 15/-, ask him, myself directing at the watchman. His tone was louder as he said, earlier I had told him Rs. 10/- and now I am telling Rs. 15/-. And he said, "I drove you from the bus stand". Now I had not seen the bus stand on my way, so I said, "Bus stand kidhar auto stand (there were 3 autos there so I felt it was an auto stand)".
By this time the watchman, who was with us also told him to settle for Rs. 15/-. But he was adamant and settling for less would hurt his ego. It seemed to me that his ego was more important to him than the money. So he said he won't take any money and pointed to his muscles saying that he earned his living thro' hard-work and while leaving he said, "Aap sache darshan karne nahi aaye aur aap jo ichha leke aaye hai woh kabhi puri nahi hogi".
Mentally, I was saying, I can't live in fear everytime of everyone's bad wishes and that does not mean that I allow myself to get cheated in an unknown place.
Then in Bhakti Niwas, we went at the counter. There was no one there, a board was put up stating that all the rooms were full. And one gentleman informed me that bedding was available and we can spend the night in the common room. My wife did not like that idea and so we left Bhakti Niwas and just opposite to it we found the Hotel Bhakti Park Inn.
Their man was standing outside intent on catching the customers, and I asked him the rates first. I said I will give Rs. 350/- and he agreed (Afterwards I felt that he would have agreed even if I had said Rs. 200/-). We saw the rooms first, rejected the first one and selected another as my wife insisted.
Now, the reader is advised to note that the Shirdi hotels charge Rs. 100/- as lock deposit. So I was charged Rs. 350/- + Rs. 100/- lock deposit for TV remote, etc (What else falls in this etc I fail to know). So I could have done well in saying that I'll pay Rs. 350/- including the lock deposit.
Also, I was supposed to write the time of my departure from the Hotel. There is no standard time of leaving in Shirdi like in many Hotels in major cities we have at 12 noon. So I wrote the time of leaving as 10:00 am in the morning and I had reached the hotel at around 10:30 pm. A less than 12 hour stay, I don't believe constitutes a day as per the English way since a day has 24 hours and neither as per the Indian way since it would be a night. However I got the receipt of Rs. 450/- (inclusive of lock deposit) saying my stay there as 1 day.
The room did not have a geyser there, but I was told that hot water would be available in the morning after 5:00 am and at 5:15am there is supposed to be an aarti at the Shirdi Sai Mandir. There is another chhota aarti at 7:00 am. I did not know then that it is a chhota aarti. I thought both the aartis were same. Earlier in January 2007 there used to be an aarti at 4:00 am. So we woke up the next day, myself at 5:50 am and since we wanted to be present for the 7:00 am aarti we had a cold water bath and left the Hotel. We left the mobiles and the 128 MB Philips Keyring pen drive that can be used to take pictures in the Hotel. This was because mobiles and cameras are not allowed in the Shirdi Sai Mandir.
On our way to the Sai Mandir, we had decided to walk it all the way, but while on our way a dog followed us and my wife is not too pleased having a dog around and so we had to take an auto and this time we fixed the fare as Rs. 15/-.
At the Sai Mandir premises, we took some samagri for the pooja and a flower and visited first the Dwarkamai that I had not visited the last time I had come here since it has a separate gate from
outside. Then we took udi of Baba and then visited the Samadhi Mandir and took darshan. After
the darshan, we went to take prasadam (Bundi ladoos) to be taken home to Mumbai. A packet of bundi ladoos has 3 ladoos in them and costs Rs. 10/- and these ladoos are of big bundis that is more tasty than the small bundis that we readily get in Mumbai. So I purchased 8 such packets for 5 families including our family.
outside. Then we took udi of Baba and then visited the Samadhi Mandir and took darshan. After
the darshan, we went to take prasadam (Bundi ladoos) to be taken home to Mumbai. A packet of bundi ladoos has 3 ladoos in them and costs Rs. 10/- and these ladoos are of big bundis that is more tasty than the small bundis that we readily get in Mumbai. So I purchased 8 such packets for 5 families including our family.
On our way back to the Hotel from the Shirdi Sai Mandir, we purchased the return tickets to Mumbai @ Rs. 130/- per head making a total of Rs. 260/-. We were told to reach the main road outside the Sai Baba mandir at 10:00 am and board the bus at 10:15 am. It must have been around 8:00 am in the morning then. So we went back walking to the Hotel Bhakti Park Inn. I had already packed the one bag we had earlier before leaving for the mandir. So in 10-15 minutes after reaching the Hotel we were out again. It was 9:00 am and I thought it too early to be leaving to catch the 10:15 bus but my wife insisted and so we left towards the Sai Mandir to the place where we had bought the tickets from one Mr. Anil. We waited there for 10 minutes or so, by which time a person promptly came and ushered us outside towards the main road and told us to get in the bus on which "Speedking" was written pointing towards it. It must have been around 9:25 am then. We did as directed.
This is not the end as you will see that the bus circled between Sai Mandir and Bhakti Niwas three to four times collecting passengers for Nasik and Mumbai. Finally, at around 10:50 am, our bus left Shirdi and headed for Mumbai with Nasik on the way. In between, my wife and I helped ourselves with an locally manufactured icecream of chocobar and raspberry with MRP. of Rs. 12/- being sold for Rs. 10/- and we were told that it was sold by authorities of Bhakti Niwas.
We had our first halt at Nasik at 12:15 pm and it was supposed to be half an hour break but it turned out that it was not until 2:00 pm in the afternoon that the bus left Nasik after collecting passengers for Mumbai. On the way we were hooked up to the movie "Deewane" starring Ajay Devgan, Urmila Matondkar and Mahima Choudhary by the bus driver and the bus conductor. While purchasing the return ticket to Mumbai, I had made sure that "Amar Mahal, Chembur" was written in the ticket by Anil so that we are not taken by surprise by a surprise refusal of the driver to halt at Amar Mahal.
We were back at our home in Mumbai at 6:00 pm.
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