Morning Tea with Raj Thackeray

It was a Thursday, the 5^th of December 2013 when I got an opportunity to meet one of the very few personalities I look up to.  Yes… It was Mr. Raj Thackeray.  The name itself carries lot of magnetism which one cannot ignore. Having the hysteria to meet someone I look up to made me jittery.

I started my journey at 9:45 am from Borivali in a ford fiesta filled with creative minds, Mr. Vasudeo Kamath Sir, My Father Mr. Uday Pai and Mr. Bal Mungekar. It was a week day morning and jammed roads weren’t a surprise for me. Thoughts of interacting with the outspoken personality were overflowing my mind. The journey which generally takes an hour’s time took us extra 45 minutes to reach the desired destination, Krishna Kunj.

Getting in was easy as people around were familiar to my father. The meeting room was quite known as I had seen it in his interviews. My eyes started rolling all over the room noticing every possible object. I always believe that a lifestyle of an artist is very artistic and Raj Thackeray was not an exception. His meeting room was nicely done full of paintings and books. The pillow cover of his chair had his signature etched on it. There were few people along with us all waiting for Mr. Thackeray. My restless wait was ended after 15 minutes as Mr. Thackeray walked in. Everyone stood right there to greet Raj Thackeray and I was completely amazed by his persona.  Starting up with his party workers and paying his attention to the required issues he guided them and took care of it. Getting through with everyone he diverted his attention to us. Calling up for tea, he started interacting with Mr. Kamath and my father regarding various issues and I was just mesmerized by his presence. We all were served with a cup of tea and I was proudly sipping it with Mr. Raj Thackeray. I was introduced to him by my father and he warmly acknowledged by asking about my livelihood. Later on even I interacted in the discussions. The discussions were varied from art, films, paintings, history and photography. They were so interesting and informative that I failed to realize how the time passed by. It was more than an hour he was talking to us. It was great, phenomenal I must say. It won’t be an understatement if I say that confidence has a new name and that’s RAJ THAKERAY. While taking his leave, I got my picture clicked with him and I made it a point to tell him that I am his fan and I see all his interviews and speeches on YouTube. I was completely overwhelmed by his charismatic effect. While leaving his place he literally escorted us till his gate and did a good bye gesture.

The experience was great and that is why I decided to blog it down and keep it fresh in my memories.

RV