Bhakti Shakti - PCMC’s Entertainment World

July 19, 2008 

If one lives on the stretch of road that leads to Bhakti Shakti in Pradhikaran, it’s tough to miss the sound of galloping horses or the clinking of the camels as they head towards the garden every evening for a brisk business. Much to the dislike of animal lovers, the dozen camels and horses draw a lot of children week after week. The turnout is considerably high on Thursdays when the industrial area shuts down because of the power cut. Weekends attract people from other parts of the city.

Bhakti Shakti garden located atop a high hill rock in Sector 23 of Nigdi-Pradhikaran along the Mumbai-Pune highway, has statues of Shivaji Maharaj and Saint Tukaram. The landscaping and well-manicured gardens provide a perfect getaway for the residents of PCMC. The huge vacant space outside the garden has slides, merry-go-rounds, camels and horse rides for children. Miniature cars and bikes cart young kids on a 100 m ride. Most visitors are families comprising of young children, but there is something in store for everyone. Many old couples relax on the lawns after an evening walk with a handful of roasted chana or groundnut.

Bhakti Shakti garden is a huge hit with young kids. At the same time, it creates employment for hundreds of hawkers selling anything from bhel puri to coconut water on hot summer evening to kala jamun. The place resembles a fair and does brisk business all through the year except the monsoon months of July-September when the business gets adversely affected. Young boys in the age group of 13-17 ride the horses. One of them said, “There are no holidays in this business. but we enjoy it as it is fun to give rides to children. At Rs.10 per ride for 100 meters, it is economical for customers.” I questioned, “What about the animals? You overwork them so much?” For which the boy without battling an eyelid said, “Madam it is our livelihood. Without these we will go hungry.”

In many ways, Bhakti Shakti - open seven days a week - is PCMC’s indigenous Animal Kingdom – not for the variety of species it houses but for the numbers it attracts by offering a wholesome entertainment for the family on a shoestring budget.

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