Mumbai
God doesn’t have office hours, so neither do I.
Vishnu has been guarding the Siddhivinayak Temple’s night shift for 22 years, watching over devotees who come seeking answers in the quiet hours when faith feels most urgent. His weathered face carries the peaceful expression of someone who has witnessed thousands of prayers being whispered into the darkness.
“People come here at night for different reasons than during the day. Day visitors come for routine prayers, tradition, habit. Night visitors? They come because they have nowhere else to turn.”
“I’ve seen everything – businessmen who lost everything, mothers praying for sick children, students before exams, couples fighting for their love. They think I’m just watching for thieves, but really, I’m watching over broken hearts.”
He keeps a small first aid kit and water bottles for devotees who faint from fasting or emotional exhaustion. “Faith makes people do extreme things sometimes. My job isn’t to judge – it’s to make sure they’re safe while they’re being human.”
“Twenty-two years ago, I came here as a devotee myself. My wife was pregnant with complications, doctors said we might lose the baby. I prayed here every night for three months. My daughter is now an engineer in Pune.”
“The old security guard back then – Ramesh kaka – he saw me crying one night and said, ‘When Ganesha answers your prayers, you have two choices: say thank you and leave, or stay and help him answer others.’ I chose to stay.”
“You know what I’ve learned? People think security guards protect temples from thieves. But we’re really protecting faith itself. When someone is broken and comes here at 2 AM, they need to know it’s safe to fall apart and put themselves back together.”
“Every night, I see miracles. Not the big dramatic ones – small ones. Someone finding courage, someone finding peace, someone finding hope they thought they’d lost forever.”
In a world that often questions faith, Vishnu reminds us that sometimes the most sacred job is simply keeping the lights on for people who need to believe in something bigger than their pain.
– Zara