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A Gujarat-based businessman in Mehsana, Jitendra Patel defies the odds against social injustice to widows by inviting 18000 Widows to the marriage of his son Ravi Patel and bestow their blessing on the newly wedded couple. This man’s generosity is commendable and will help in waving off the superstitious taboo that widows are considered a bad omen for society in holy occasions and celebrations like festival and marriage.
Widows were invited from five districts of north Gujarat including Banaskantha, Mehsana, Sabarkantha, Patan and Aravalli to bless his younger son Ravi and his bride. At Derol, where the ceremony took place, Swami Sachidanand and several politicians were also present. Widows were treated as special privileged guests at the wedding and was given great honor & respect.
“It was my heartfelt desire that the couple should be blessed by widows, who are mostly neglected by the society. Their presence is considered a bad omen at auspicious functions but I wanted to prove that all these beliefs are nothing but superstitions,” Jitendra Patel told The Times of India.
As a token of gratitude, every widow has presented a blanket and a sapling with a promise that they would carefully nurture the plant in their backyard. To make the women self-reliant, he announced to provide a milking cow each to around 500 widows who came from poor families.
55-year-old Hansa Thakore told The Times of India that she has never expected such honour and so much importance after she became a widow.
There are many examples of rich politicians and businessmen spending lavishly at weddings and setting a high profile status in the society. But this nobleman has done the most generous thing that could have been done at a wedding.
Even in today’s India, where the blind faith about the widows is still common, this man’s altruistic work is a great move to change the orthodox customs prevailing in our society.
The Logical Indian applauds Jitubhai for creating awareness against this blind & irrelevant belief and hopes that the newly wedded couple have a long and prosperous life together. We hope that this initiative drives the Indian society to treat widows in a fair & well-deserved manner.
-Pulkit Benada
