Be it monsoon or summer, or even a winter like the one the city is experiencing this year, devotees from all parts of Mumbai cover long distances on foot in the wee hours to reach the Siddhivinayak temple in the city.
Last Saturday saw something that would rival that. The mercury had dipped into single figures, hovering around 8 degrees Celsius, a good degree less than what it was in the other metro known for its harsh winter, New Delhi.
The event was a yoga camp organised by the television yoga guru Swami Ramdev. The venue was an open space in a remote corner of the Bandra Kurla Complex ground in north-central Mumbai. Dressed in sweaters, heads wrapped in mufflers and balaclavas and lugging their yoga kits, people were trickling in from 4 am. If there was any proof needed about the dedicated following for Ramdev, here it was.
As the grounds filled fast, Ramdev arrived in a luxury sedan at around 4:45 am. In the biting cold, he had nothing but a thin saffron shawl to cover his upper body.
A group of musicians sitting to the swami's right on the stage set the crowd up with a few devotional songs.
Towards the end of the songs, an organiser announced that among others, actor Mallika Sherawat will also attend the camp that day to learn yoga from Ramdev.
Reportage: Krishnakumar P | Photographs: Sanjay Sawant
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