Businessman Invites 18,000 Widows To Son's Wedding
Jitendra Patel, a resident of Mehsana, invited the widows from five districts of Gujarat, for his son’s wedding.
A widow's presence at a wedding is considered a taboo (wrong) at many places in India more so in rural areas. It is believed that they bring bad luck, and are not invited to festivals and other celebrations. But when a businessman in Gujarat was organizing his son’s wedding. He decided to break this superstitious belief and invited about 18,000 widows to bless the bride and groom. This story is not recent, but is inspiring and we hope that people will learn from him. Jitendra Patel, a resident of Mehsana, Gujarat invited the widows from five districts of Gujarat. Jitendra Patel said, “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.” To make them feel even more special, every widow was presented with a blanket and a sapling. They promised to nurture the plants back home. Additionally, 500 widows coming from financially weaker backgrounds were presented with a milking cow each, to help them earn a living. 55-year-old Hansa Thakore said that she has never expected such honour, "I can hope of earning a decent livelihood now that I have a cow. I never expected getting so much importance after becoming a widow," It is because of people like Jitendra Patel that we can actually dream of a better India where everyone would be treated equally. It is high time we stop these social taboos of caste and unwanted customs. If he can do it, so can you. Be the change you want to see!
