Bidar wedding guests get helmets as gifts

BENGALURU: Wedding guests often get a bag of goodies or some choice memento as return gifts to mark the occasion. But a couple from Bidar in north Karnataka gave their guests a pleasant surprise, opting for helmets and saplings instead.
Shivraj Jamadar and Savita gifted 100 helmets and 1,000 saplings to their guests, saying they hoped the helmets would save some lives and the saplings would make the air cleaner for future generations.Their unique gifts won the appreciation of not only their guests, but also of the district administration and police officials.
Shivraj, 27, who has studied till Class10 and owns a motor driving school in Bidar, told TOI, “Weddings in this part of the state are usually lavish; people splurge on liquor and music. I wanted to do something more meaningful. As we keep hearing of road accidents where bike riders were not wearing helmets, I hit upon the idea of gifting helmets as it would save lives and families.“ Shivraj had to convince his parents and in-laws but they agreed in the end.
“I would have spent Rs 30,000 to Rs 50,000 on liquor and music during the wedding bash, I used the same to buy 100 helmets,“ Shivraj said. “Even if 80 people use the helmets that we have gifted, it will be an achievement... And even if 500 saplings survive, it will make a great difference to our environment and future generations.“
Shivraj said he gifted helmets to bride grooms in the past. “My parents are farm workers and I am a first-generation entrepreneur, I am in the road-safety business. I have gifted helmets to bridegrooms... In fact, two such people called me after surviving a road crash and thanked me.“
That said, the guests did initially find the gifts a little strange. But soon enough, they were full of praise. Nagashetty D, who attended the wedding, said, “People became appreciative of Shivraj's gesture. Moreover, something like this has not happened in Bidar so far.“