Hindu-Muslim bonhomie under lockdown
Rajasthan’s capital Jaipur witnessed a unique example of Hindu-Muslim unity and communal harmony. A Hindu man, Rajendra Bagdi, who has been battling cancer, recently passed away. The family faced difficulty in performing the last rites due to the ongoing lockdown and the fact that only his wife and children were present at the house.
Soon the neighbouring Muslims came to know about the death and they reached the Bagdi home to help with the last rites. They took the body to the Chandpol cremation ground while chanting, “Ram Naam Satya Hai.” The cremation was done according to the Hindu custom. People who witnessed the said the incident exemplified the Ganga Jamuni culture in Jaipur. This initiative was appreciated by everyone and videos of the incident went viral on social media.
State govt to procure more grains
It came as a huge relief for farmers when the Ashok Gehlot government announced that instead of 25 quintals, the state government will now purchase 40 quintals of grains from the farmers at Minimum Support Price. On the farmers’ demand, the state government had requested the central government to increase the purchase limit. The central government has now approved it. Purchase started on April 16 in Kota division and the rest of Rajasthan will begin on May 1.
Virtual engagement
More and more couples are embracing technology to tie the knot during the ongoing lockdown. Recently two families from Jodhpur and Delhi got their children engaged online. The girl’s father virtually handed over coconut to the son-in-law and handed over envelopes to the gods online and completed the engagement rituals. Dr Sakshi Mehta, a resident of Ratanada Airforce area, was to be engaged with Delhi’s Raunak Bhandari, who is currently in Bengaluru. The auspicious time of engagement was on April 6. But the lockdown played spoilsport. Both families wanted the engagement to take place on a predecided date and decided to the engagement should be completed online. Hence all rituals were completed online.
Police block path, woman delivers in auto
Ramganj area in Jaipur remained a coronavirus hotspot and a strict curfew is underway in the area. Unfortunately, a pregnant woman had to bear the brunt of this. She started experiencing labour pain on Saturday and was on her way to the hospital in an autorickshaw. On the way, the auto was stopped by the police and the driver questioned several times. The hospital was just two and a half kilometres away but it took them a quarter of an hour to reach there. During questioning, the woman’s labour pains intensified and she gave birth to the baby in the auto. The angry husband said that it’s because of the police that both the lives were put at risk.