Sandhya Harsha
Daijiworld Media Network
Bidar, Jul 7: While most tend to spend lavishly on their weddings, a couple from Bidar, North Karnataka, is being applauded for cutting unnecessary costs to afford meaningful return gifts. Shivraj Jamadar and his bride Savitha gifted over 100 helmets and 1500 saplings to guests who had attended their wedding on 3rd July.
Shivraj (26) is a driving school instructor and owns Shri Bhagyavanthi Motor Driving School. "I have witnessed several accidents and most people suffered head injuries. The fact that people hesitate to buy or wear a helmet deeply disturbed me," he says in an interview to daijiworld.
Hence, Shivraj decided to cut off on firecrackers, liquor and sound system which usually are part of a wedding bash and opted to buy helmets and saplings in the money. He spent around Rs 50,000 for the return gifts. "If I serve liquor, people will enjoy momentarily. However, if the helmets I have gifted save a couple of lives and if at least half the saplings gifted survive, I will have the content that I have truly made a difference," he says.
Shivraj had invited around 2500 people for his wedding and he used the opportunity to create awareness. "I distributed pamphlets that say ‘Your safety is your family’s happiness’ to my guests. On the other side of the pamphlet, I printed all necessary road signals and rules," he adds.
Shivraj is a crusader for road safety in Bidar. He actively takes part in road safety campaigns.
"Whenever I have visited other people’s weddings or functions, I always gift helmets. It may seem strange, but it will save lives which is more precious than any other materialistic pleasures," he adds.
"Around half the motorists in Bidar don’t follow the helmet rule. They try avoiding traffic cops. It is sad that they don’t realize the value of a helmet and only use it to avoid penalty," says Shivraj who hopes that his move will inspire people to ride safely wearing helmets.
Shivraj’s bride Savitha was not informed about the return gifts. "I kept it as a surprise and she was shocked when I started distributing helmets. All her family members appreciated the move and she was all smiles," he laughs.
The unique return gifts have also been appreciated by the traffic department of Bidar, district administration as well as the forest department who helped Shivraj in acquiring the saplings.