A specially-abled wedding reception Pramod Panwar, TNN 3 January 2010, 09:22pm IST
PALANPUR: When Jitendra Patel, recipient of the prestigious Priyadarshini Indira Gandhi Vruksha Mitra environmental national award, was planning his son's wedding, he thought of seeking blessings from a special group of people. So when his son Chintan got married to Jalpa on December 28, it was neither kin nor friends but close to 5,000 visually and physically challenged, hearing-and- speech impaired and aged people from old age homes, all of north Gujarat districts Banaskantha, Mehsana, Patan and Sabarkantha who graced their wedding reception. "It was my desire to seek blessings for the couple from the people who have been neglected by society," Jitendra told TOI. "So, I invited people from as many as 64 institutions working for welfare of the blind, deaf-and-dumb and old age homes and they all got here in the special buses I arranged." Offering his blessings at the occasion, Sachidanadji Maharaj of Dantali Ashram said: "We have no time to think of others. We exploit those who are not as privileged as us. Such a society should take a cue from this man's actions." The party was held at Tirupati Park at Derol village some 10 km from Himmatnagar. Jitendra, however, did not forget his green mission, which has always been a cause close to his heart. " On the day of the wedding, we gave each guest a sapling to grow and took an assurance from them about its proper maintenance. " The Patels also donated all the cash gifts received at the wedding plus an equal amount contributed by hemselves, for welfare of the needy. Patel has so far planted more than three lakh trees in Derol Tirupati Nature Park and another four lakh in a park in Visnagar dreams of a green north Gujarat, known to be a drought-prone arid area. "We can't see, but can feel the fragrance of flowers around here. Humanity resides in such acts," said 76-year-old Raychandbhai, a resident of an old age home in Visnagar. When someone shares something of value with you and you benefit from it, you have a moral obligation to share it with others
