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Outside Matoshree, a vigil for Bal Thackeray
Thousands of people from all walks of life have kept a vigil outside Matoshree -- the residence of ailing Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray -- hoping for some good news about their beloved leader's fragile health.
Prasanna D Zore captures some of the most memorable moments...
Two senior citizens, both 76 and staunch Shiv Sena supporters, wait outside Matoshree.
The police let them inside but the security cordon in front of the main gate wouldn't allow them inside the gate that would take them to 'Saheb's bungalow'.
"We have come here to wish him well," they told the media.
They had come from Sewri, in central Mumbai, and said they will stay put unless they got a proper update about Thackeray senior's health.
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Outside Matoshree, a vigil for Bal Thackeray
Shiv Sena leader Sabir Shaikh, who is ailing too and, as per some news reports, living alone in a poor condition in Kalyan helped by his supporters, was also waiting there.
Shaikh was the labour minister in the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party coalition government that ruled Maharashtra between 1995 and 1999.
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Outside Matoshree, a vigil for Bal Thackeray
Policemen who had not been assigned duty areas relax while chatting with each other outside Matoshree.
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Outside Matoshree, a vigil for Bal Thackeray
A lady officer has an altercation with Shiv Sena supporters who wanted to barge inside the restricted area outside Matoshree.
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Outside Matoshree, a vigil for Bal Thackeray
Disappointed supporters rest their tired legs after they were denied entry into the restricted area.
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Outside Matoshree, a vigil for Bal Thackeray
Agitated Shiv Sena supporters shout slogans in support of Bal Thackeray -- to get the attention of the people who matter -- so that they can get a chance to get as close to Matoshree's gate as possible.
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Outside Matoshree, a vigil for Bal Thackeray
Reality star Dolly Bindra was also seen at Matoshree.
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Outside Matoshree, a vigil for Bal Thackeray
Bal Thackeray look-alike Subhash Thakur came from Santacruz to check on Thackeray's well-being. He was an instant hit with the gathered Shiv Sainiks, who posed with him.
Thakur said he was a staunch follower of Bal Thackeray and hails from Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh.
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Outside Matoshree, a vigil for Bal Thackeray
These are the fortunate few who were on the other side of the barricade just outside the Matoshree gate.
The caste system that every political party imposes on its cadres was amply evident outside Matoshree. Those who had the pull and the voice to match managed to force their way inside the barricade despite the police preventing them from doing so. The rest had to stay outside the second barricade.
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Outside Matoshree, a vigil for Bal Thackeray
Is senior Shiv Sena leader Manohar Joshi not a VIP?
The former Maharashtra chief minister, who came to Matoshree on a couple of occasions during the day, made his way through a melee of supporters, bodyguards and media personnel.
Though visibly shaken by his mentor's ill-health and his own failing health -- he had to hold his supporters' hands to his left and right -- Joshi made it a point to wade through the crowd unlike a lot of other senior Sena leaders and Bollywood stars, who made their entries and exits through the VIP corridor that reached Matoshree from the other end of the road.
One wonders if Joshi is not 'VIP enough' or he chose this path of his own accord.
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Outside Matoshree, a vigil for Bal Thackeray
A photographer, tired of holding his heavy camera gear, rests his DSLR atop his head.
Most media personnel, who were sandwiched between the two barricades, stood their ground for more than six hours without taking a break even to answer nature's call.
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Outside Matoshree, a vigil for Bal Thackeray
A small group of policemen breaking bread atop the Bandra railway station flyover in the morning. They had just come off duty outside Matoshree, when their mates relieved them after a 12-hour shift.
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Outside Matoshree, a vigil for Bal Thackeray
The Oberois -- Suresh (father) and Vivek (son) -- come calling on Matoshree. Interestingly, they went in at around 11.53 on Friday morning and had not come out till 2 pm, when this correspondent left the media enclosure.
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Outside Matoshree, a vigil for Bal Thackeray
Dressed in impeccable white, Manohar Joshi looked as sad and shaken as he did on day one.
Supported by two Sena men on each side, Manohar Joshi walked feebly in front of the cameras to update the media about Bal Thackeray's health.
"He is improving and is stable," he said before walking through the non-VIP entrance, braving crowds and mediamen who harangued him outside the barricade again.
Joshi left without speaking as he had already addressed the media a while ago.
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Outside Matoshree, a vigil for Bal Thackeray
Yoga guru Baba Ramdev, who shot into fame for reasons other than yoga when he started his agitation against black money, came visiting Matoshree.
Like the Oberois, the Baba too was holed up inside Matoshree for more than 90 minutes.
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Outside Matoshree, a vigil for Bal Thackeray
This is one of the doctors who came to see Bal Thackeray at Matoshree at around 11.30 on Friday morning. He left 20 minutes later but when the media asked him about the ailing Sena chief's health, he refused to make any comments.
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Outside Matoshree, a vigil for Bal Thackeray
This sniffer dog was part of the security apparatus that has been in place since the night of November 14 (when Balasaheb's condition worsened).
His attendant said Raja, the sniffer dog, is an expert in detecting the presence of explosives.
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Outside Matoshree, a vigil for Bal Thackeray
Republican Party of India leader Ramdas Athavale, like Manohar Joshi, has been a regular at Matoshree ever since the news of Bal Thackeray's failing health was aired by the media on the night of November 14.
Athavale's RPI allied with the Shiv Sena and BJP in the recently concluded elections to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, which the coalition won.
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Outside Matoshree, a vigil for Bal Thackeray
Actress Juhi Chawla and Kiran Shantaram come visiting Matoshree. Their visit was short and lasted for only 20 minutes.
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Outside Matoshree, a vigil for Bal Thackeray
This is the man who claims Bal Thackeray will be up and standing in a few days.
Lal Arvind Sehdev from Ranchi, who practices the occult Rohini Vidya, said the amount of positive energy around Matoshree had significantly improved on Friday compared to Wednesday when he first measured it.
He was an instant hit with the media men who clamoured for his bytes. This correspondent too profiled him.
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Outside Matoshree, a vigil for Bal Thackeray
Model and actor Milind Gunaji came calling on his friend Uddhav to inquire about his ailing father's health. Seen here in conversation is Gunaji, his wife and Shiv Sena spokesperson Nilam Gorhe.
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Outside Matoshree, a vigil for Bal Thackeray
The man who struck terror into Mumbai's nightlife lovers -- Vasant Dhoble -- is mighty pleased with himself as he chats with photographers outside Matoshree.
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