25 April 2024, Thursday - 2

25th April 2024, Thursday

Though Jagruti had been coordinating the trip for over 10 days, it wasn't until Wednesday, April 24th, 2024, that we received confirmation the trip would finally materialize. The vehicle arranged for us for the next 3 days would pick us up from Karjat railway station the following morning, on Thursday, April 25th, 2024. Upon receiving this confirmation, we held a quick but effective meeting in the office to address the immediate issue: how to reach Karjat station. The most logical option was to board a Karjat local train and disembark at our destination, which is precisely what we did.

We identified the 8:39 AM Karjat local at Kurla, decided that all of us (Manoj, Jagruti, Dhawal, Pooja, Prajakta & myself) would meet at Kurla station by 8:15 AM and board the same. In case anyone got left behind, they would catch the next Karjat-bound train. Everything seemed to be going smoothly. As luck would have it, Manoj wasn't able to reach Kurla. However, he informed us that he would board the same train at Dadar, and we agreed to proceed with our plan to meet at Karjat station. After boarding at Dadar he cautioned us that the train was quite crowded.

Jagruti, Pooja & Prajakta got into the ladies’ compartment, Dhawal & myself in the adjoining general compartment. Though crowded we managed to push inside and were fortunate to get seats by the time the train reached Thane. The local reached karjat by around 10:15 AM. Since no one had breakfasted in the morning we had our fill of special karjat vada pav.

Having satiated our immediate hunger, we called and coordinated with the driver of the vehicle Bablu Bhosale who met us outside the station. After a refreshing cup of chai at a nearby Yewale Amrut Tulya outlet we got into the Mahindra Scorpio arranged for us & started the journey with a hearty chant of “Ganpati Bappa Morya” we embarked on our journey eager for the darshan of “Sri Varad Vinayak”. (Mahad) 


 

The name "Varada" translates to "boon-granting," signifying Lord Ganesha's ability to fulfill wishes. The temple itself, built during the Peshwa era, reflects the architectural influences of that period.

Living up to his name, Lord Ganesha seemed to be granting us boons this day! The temple was practically deserted, allowing us a fulfilling and unhurried darshan that only took about 15 minutes.

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