Mumbai:
Rahul Prakash Suvarna, a social activist based in Thane, claims to have saved 30,000 tonnes of rice by crusading against the custom of throwing rice at a couple during a Hindu wedding
Suvarna had a brainwave in 2007 that many took as an affront to established tradition. He doesn't like any food grains being wasted, even for conjugal customs.
"I protested during my elder brother's marriage against throwing rice at a couple. I embarked on a fast to restrain my family from wasting grain," said Suvarna, who fasted for six days without food and water.
"I fainted and had to be hospitalised. My family finally realised I was serious about this and decided to join in my cause."
Soon, word spread as Suvarna's friends and family took it up along with him. They now go to weddings and convince people of the need to save rice.
Once he gets to know of them, Suvarna goes to weddings at any place to convince people of the flipside of the outmoded ceremony. Once, he hopped on a train to Pune, to be in time to stop the rice throwing ceremony at a wedding.
In his mission to save food grain, Suvarna has invited the ire of the orthodox who think his request is an effrontery to their customs. "At times, families are offended when I ask them to do away with the ceremony. Once, at a wedding, some people beat me up when I asked them not to waste rice."
Commenting on Suvarna's project, social worker Nikita Gandhi said, "Established customs should be more sensitive to the need of the times. They need to be thought over. All great movements begin with a single individual. If revising a custom helps the weaker sections of the society, there is nothing wrong with it."
"Along with two of my other friends, I have managed to save approximately 30,000 tonnes of rice since 2007," Suvarna said. "If two to five kilos of rice is wasted in one wedding, you can imagine what that means in mass weddings. So I have decided to meet the social welfare department of the state government that conducts mass marriages in the city."
"It's noble that Suvarna has taken this up. We will definitely think about what we can do to save grain in mass marriages," said Ram Mirashe, secretary to the Minister of Social Welfare Department.
Suvarna had a brainwave in 2007 that many took as an affront to established tradition. He doesn't like any food grains being wasted, even for conjugal customs.
"I protested during my elder brother's marriage against throwing rice at a couple. I embarked on a fast to restrain my family from wasting grain," said Suvarna, who fasted for six days without food and water.
"I fainted and had to be hospitalised. My family finally realised I was serious about this and decided to join in my cause."
Soon, word spread as Suvarna's friends and family took it up along with him. They now go to weddings and convince people of the need to save rice.
Once he gets to know of them, Suvarna goes to weddings at any place to convince people of the flipside of the outmoded ceremony. Once, he hopped on a train to Pune, to be in time to stop the rice throwing ceremony at a wedding.
In his mission to save food grain, Suvarna has invited the ire of the orthodox who think his request is an effrontery to their customs. "At times, families are offended when I ask them to do away with the ceremony. Once, at a wedding, some people beat me up when I asked them not to waste rice."
Commenting on Suvarna's project, social worker Nikita Gandhi said, "Established customs should be more sensitive to the need of the times. They need to be thought over. All great movements begin with a single individual. If revising a custom helps the weaker sections of the society, there is nothing wrong with it."
"Along with two of my other friends, I have managed to save approximately 30,000 tonnes of rice since 2007," Suvarna said. "If two to five kilos of rice is wasted in one wedding, you can imagine what that means in mass weddings. So I have decided to meet the social welfare department of the state government that conducts mass marriages in the city."
"It's noble that Suvarna has taken this up. We will definitely think about what we can do to save grain in mass marriages," said Ram Mirashe, secretary to the Minister of Social Welfare Department.
