Neelam Devi also joined the sloganeering. A year into the Shiv Sena and she is still vague about what the party is all about. ``I don't know what the issues on their agenda are,'' she confesses, much to the dismay of a Sainik standing near-by. ``But I know that if I have a problem, they will sort it out. Water, electricity, housing, anytime I go to them, they help.''

And it was for people like Neelam Devi that Shiv Sena's supremo Bal Thackeray's son Uddhav had come to Delhi. ``I am here to strengthen our base,'' he said and paused. As if on cue the slogan shouting began.

Uddhav continued, going on to talk about Pakistan, Sonia Gandhi and defending the Shiv Sena, Rajesh and his friends listlessly looked at the ceiling. The political talk was not making sense to them. They clapped when Uddhav mentioned incidents like the Staines killings and Bihar massacres. While the objective of the prerna divas was to set an agenda for the sainiks in Delhi and other parts of the country, every speaker ended up defending the actions of the party and used the occasion as a political platform. There was a reason given for every decision the party made and it looked like the party leaders, including Union minister for Environment and Forests Suresh Prabhu, were trying to convince the sainiks about what the Shiv Sena stood for. While the politically inclined listened, the ``young force'' of the Shiv Sena didn't.

The entire audience were all ears again the speaker the minute Uddhav said that he was proud of the work his sainiks had done in Delhi. ``I am here to felicitate my people on the fine job they have done in the Fire episode and on the Ferozshah Kotla pitch,'' Uddhav said. Now he had the audience eating out of his hand.

Delhi Shiv Sena chief Jai Bhagwan Goel had his moment in the spotlight too. He raved and he ranted and everybody cheered him right on. After all, he had managed to organise the first ever Shiv Sena meeting outside Mumbai which was attended by Thackeray's son in person. Goel and his men were patted on their back for the ``good work'' they did.

In return, they all trooped onto the dias one after the other garlanding the leaders. They were a confused lot. Half of them didn't know who was who. But since it was being done for the first time, everything was forgiven.