We found a shady spot under a tree and settled down to wait.  Saurabh had called to say he had started from home and would be there in about a half hour, and that Srishti had called Snehal and said she would meet us around 12:30.  After a little while M said, “See, now the TV guys are coming.”  I looked across the street and saw that a van from a station called CNEB was parked in front of Salman’s building.  We got up to see what was going on, and as we got near the street, M drew my attention to another guy wearing a Salman bracelet!  I had my camera ready, and quickly took a video of his hand and then the rest of him.  Was he the same guy as before?  I really couldn’t say.  The CNEB guys were interviewing about a half dozen of the fans in front of Galaxy Apartments.   

As we watched, the fan group increased, to about a dozen.  Then some curious onlookers also joined the crowd, so now there were about 20 to 30 people in a circle, with the reporters in the middle.  Suddenly we heard a loud rendition of “Tenu Leke” from the fan group, being performed by one of the fans for the camera. 

I wanted to capture this if possible, so we went across the street, but could not really see anything, and, anyway, the song was over. I noticed that now a Zee TV truck was also parked on the other side of the street.  We went back to our shady spot.  I was just thinking that it was funny that it should always be guy fans who show up outside Salman’s house, when a couple of young women (maybe in their 30’s) started a conversation with someone on the other side of our tree.  I could hear one of them exclaiming vehemently, “Main dua karta hoon  ..!”  (“I prayed so much!”)  She repeated this several times, and I wondered what she was praying so hard for.  Somehow I felt that it must also have to do with Salman.  They left after a few minutes, and M commented, “See?  That girl said she has been coming here every year for the last 18 years.”  “And what was she praying about?” I asked.  “Oh, she was praying that she would get to see Salman one day,” explained M.  I was actually wondering why, if the fans were dedicated enough to come to Salman’s house, they didn’t know that he always goes out of town for his birthday.   

The TV interviews seemed to be over, and the crowd in front of Galaxy was breaking up.  Saurabh now joined us (it was about 11:30) and said that Snehal was on his way, and had called him to report that Srishti had called and said she was very busy, so she couldn’t come to Barista or any place with us, but could only give us five minutes.  We hung out there for a while until Snehal called to say he had arrived at Bandra station and would be with us in a few minutes.  The three of us crossed the street again and went to stand in front of Galaxy.  Though the TV crews had left, some of the fans had come back again, and there were probably about a dozen of them outside the Galaxy gate.   

I was chatting with M, when Saurabh said, “Oh, there is Srishti.”  He pointed to a lady in a red shirt outside the gate.  She saw Saurabh and came over and said hi.  Saurabh introduced me and M as two other fans who had come to join the birthday deed.  Srishti asked, “Who has the check?”  Saurabh said Snehal had it, and he would be there any moment.  Srishti went back in again, and Snehal came to join us.  Then Srishti came out again, asked for the check from Snehal, and was about to go, when Snehal showed her the book, and said that this year we also had prepared a birthday book for Salman.  Srishti said, “Oh, how sweet,” and went in again, saying, “Just a minute.”  We were all a little puzzled about what was going on.  The crowd of fans had really pressed in close to the gate now (we four were about ten feet away from the gate), and the security guards were standing in front, forming a barrier for them.  Snehal said, “Oh, Sohail is there.  I think we will meet Sohail.” 

After a couple of minutes, Srishti opened the gate a crack and beckoned to us to come inside.  We squeezed in through the barely open gate, and the guard closed it immediately after us.  It was pretty funny, actually.  I could see that we had suddenly become mini celebrities to the fans outside, by virtue of the fact that we had been let in onto the hallowed ground. J 

Inside, Srishti said, “I want to introduce you to Dr. Chopra, who looks after all the medical issues for the Foundation,” and introduced us to Dr. Sandeep Chopra.  He looked very relaxed, being dressed in shorts and a T-shirt.  I had actually planned to talk to Srishti about a suggestion I had having to do with some medical topics, so meeting Dr. Chopra was an unexpected bonus.  Srishti introduced us to him, saying that we had brought a donation for SKF, and “They do this every year,” and was looking around to see where Sohail was, I guess.  I took the opportunity to ask Dr. Chopra if I could have a minute of his time to tell him something, and he said, “Sure, sure.” So, while I was talking to him, apparently Sohail got out of the car he was in, and walked back inside to take a phone call.  Anyway, I didn’t see him, though the others did.  In a minute Srishti was back, saying, “Oh, he [Sohail] has gone inside.  Sorry, but we have to leave now.”  To Snehal she said, “I’ll send you the receipt and I’ll have Bhai call you.”  Then we came out of the gate again and started walking toward our car. 

One of the fans ran after me and asked, “Auntie, woh hai kya?” (“Is he there?”)  I said, “No, he’s at Panvel.  He went there yesterday,” (all in English) and this news bulletin was flashed to the rest of the fans. J

We were at a bit of a loss, as it was all over much sooner than we expected.  We went to a nearby coffee place – not the Barista where Salman goes, ha ha, but a much smaller one – and had some sandwiches.  There I saw the book for the first time.  It is a 5”x7” size book, with very nice paper and printing. 

After lunch, we went over to St. Anthony’s, which is quite near.  However, when we got there it was already past 1:00 pm, and they said that not only were visitors not allowed until 5 pm, but that the office was also closed till then.  So we had to kill about three and a half hours, which we did.

We went back there a little after 5 pm, and M and I went inside to talk to their head sister while Snehal and Saurabh went to a nearby ATM to draw the cash for our donation (we gave Rs. 4,000).  St. Anthony’s is obviously a house that the church had purchased a long, long time ago, because they don’t have properties like that in that locality any more!  It is a huge house, set well back from the street, with a very large courtyard with lots of shady trees, and has a very peaceful and relaxed ambience.  Of course, in the actual building things were a little busier than when we had gone there earlier in the afternoon, as a lot of visitors were coming to see their family members.   

We chatted with the head sister a little, and I learned that the home is for women only.  I asked her how their residents were selected, and she said that some they find, and some come on their own, and some are brought by their families.  I was surprised by this, because I didn’t expect any of them to have families.  I asked if they pay for their stay, as is the case at other old age homes, and she said no.  She said that they had several residents who had been there for 20 or more years.  One lady had been there for 30 years, she said, and was now 98 years old. 

They were having some kind of service in the room next to the office, where most of the residents had gathered, though not the 98 year old one, who the sister said mainly stays in bed a lot.  However, while we were there, there was a phone call for another resident, who the sister said was 96 years old. She looked quite healthy, though somewhat frail because of her age.  We couldn’t really talk to her much, because she was busy with the various visitors, and fielding phone calls for the residents, etc.  However, she was quite gracious and thanked us for our donation.  Snehal and Saurabh had come by this time and given her the cash.

Oh, I must tell you about an interesting incident during our earlier visit.  Saurabh wanted me and M to go inquire for the head sister, and when we went and explained that we were there to give a donation, they asked, who is giving the donation?  There was an awkward silence as M and I looked at each other and stammered, “Um … um…”  Finally I said, “Fans of Salman Khan,” and the lady beamed and said, “Oh fans of Salman Khan!  Of course!”

So there you have it.  For me the most rewarding aspect of the trip was the chance to meet Snehal and Saurabh, and spend a lot of time with them and getting to know them