WHEN a 93-year-old villager, dressed in a traditional white ‘dhotikurta’ and a cap, stepped into a jewellery shop in Maharashtra’s Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, the staff mistook his humble appearance for someone seeking financial help. But when he expressed the wish to buy a ‘mangalsutra’ (sacred necklace worn by married women) for his wife accompanying him, the shop owner overwhelmed by the nonagenarian’s gesture of love for his spouse, gave it to him for a “token” amount Rs 20. Nivrutti Shinde and his wife Shantabai, hailing from a humble farming family at Ambhora Jahagir village in Jalna district, are currently on a pilgrimage to Pandharpur on foot for the Ashadhi Ekadashi celebration.

 

They recently visited the jewellery shop located in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. As they entered the store, the staff initially assumed they were there to seek help. But they became emotional when the man humbly expressed his wish to purchase a traditional ‘mangalsutra’ for his wife. The shop owner, impressed by the man’s simple yet profound gesture of love, gifted the necklace to him, taking only Rs 20 from him. “The couple entered the shop and the man gave me Rs 1,120, saying he wanted to buy a mangalsutra for his wife. I was overwhelmed by his gesture. I just took Rs 20 from him as a token of blessings, and handed over the mangalsutra to the couple,” the shop owner said.