By: Tushar Joshi
August 10, 2005
BROTHERS IN ARMS: Rohit (left) and Ronit Roy attend the Ganesh aarti outside Siddhivinayak Temple early Tuesday morning
Pics: Vishal Kelkar
The Roy brothers, actors Rohit and Ronit, along with close friends and family, walked their way to Siddhivinayak temple in Prabhadevi early Tuesday morning.
The reason? Rohit had kept a mannat for elder brother Ronit. "I had decided to do the walk with something in mind for Ronit. Finally, both of us managed to coordinate our schedules and go for the darshan," he said.
Three-hour trudge
Rohit started walking from his home in Andheri at around 2 am, with friends Samir Soni and Sudhanshu Pandey; they reached the temple at 5.15 am.
Ronit, accompanied by wife Neelam, his brother-in-law, and friend Bunty, later joined them. Rohit says he has walked to the temple before. "I have walked to Siddhivinayak years back. It's an out of the world experience; it can't be described in words."
He says the last 15 minutes were truly testing. "I wasn't exactly tired, but in the end, when you could almost see the temple, I realised how much I had walked."
Ronit's first time
PRAISE THE LORD: Samir Soni (left) and Rohit Roy at Siddhivinayak temple
Even though he hadn't walked to Siddhivinayak before, elder brother Ronit said the July 26 deluge prepared him for the hike.
Like everyone else, I too walked on that dreaded day. I walked home all the way from Malad. I think it prepared me for this."
Ronit calls his wife Neelam a hardcore religious bhakt.
"She has walked barefoot before and had no issues walking this time around." He says there was a 10-minute delay in reaching the temple, which is why he missed the main pooja. "
Halfway through the walk, I lost track of Rohit and the boys, so I got there a bit late."
The sight of devotees crawling near Mahim and an old woman walking barefoot touched Ronit. "Seeing people immersed in selfless devotion really moved me. I hope they get everything they have asked for."
All about bhaichara
When asked if he would walk to the temple again, Ronit said, "Why not? I am a total believer in God. When I found out that Rohit had kept a mannat for me, I decided to join him and give him my support. Next time, I will ask for something for him and take the lead."