Mumbai, Jan 5 (IANS) Sanjay Dutt's wife Manyata has reportedly left for the famed Vaishno Devi temple in Jammu and Kashmir to pray, but minus her husband.

She has left behind Sanjay to spend time with his three best friends, who live in different parts of the world. They were in Mumbai for the New Year and Sanjay was keen to spend some more time with them.

'Manyata left for Vaishno Devi after their New Year's party with some girl pals for three days. Initially, Sanjay, who never says no to his wife, agreed to come along. But then she saw his heart was set on enjoying the time he had with his buddies whom he rarely gets to see because of his schedules,' said a source close to the couple told IANS.

'These guys have been his closest friends from childhood and are no part of the film industry. Though he has many close friends in the industry like Suniel Shetty and Bunty Walia, these three non-film friends are Sanjay's closest confidantes. He tries to get them to come over whenever he has some time off,' added the source.

Manyata didn't have the heart to drag her husband away to Vaishno Devi.

'Though she really wanted her husband to accompany her, she didn't want to deprive him of his precious time with his pals. She decided to make this trip to Vaishno Devi an all-girls' thing while Sanjay chilled out with buddies, watched films and played games, back home before he resumes shooting later this week.'

The year is a decisive year for the Dutts, Sanjay Dutt Productions is about to take off and they've signed some of the best directors in the business.

'Ideally, Manyata would've wanted her husband to pray. But since he was in the mood to play, she let him be. There's a perception that she has been alienating her husband from his pals. Manyata wants to end that.'

Incidentally, the Dutts' New Year party was not a low-key affair by choice.

'They had invited everyone, but hardly anyone was in town,' said the source.