A farmer from a village in Khatav taluka, Satara, ended up hospitalised for two days after a mutton bone lodged in his food pipe. He was eating the mutton during month of Akhad ahead Shravan.
The 50-year-old host was enjoying a non-veg meal when a cat lunged at his plate. Startled, he swallowed a piece of meat with a hidden bone. He immediately felt discomfort but tried home remedies. Over the next two days, he suffered chest pain and difficulty swallowing.
Worried about a possible heart condition, his family even consulted a cardiologist. However, the pain persisted, pointing instead to an esophageal issue. Finally, they rushed him to Meenakshi Hospital in Satara. Doctors performed an endoscopy and successfully removed the bone lodged in the lower esophagus. The pain subsided soon after.
In many parts of rural Maharashtra, Akhad is a customary gathering held just before the holy month of Shravan, when many people observe vegetarianism and religious fasting. It is often seen as a final non-vegetarian feast where families and friends come together to enjoy traditional dishes, especially mutton, before transitioning into the more austere rituals of Shravan. The Akhad not only marks a cultural moment of indulgence but also reflects the balance between celebration and spiritual discipline in local traditions.
Free chicken
Recently, in Pune, to take electoral advantage of this occasion, a couple from Pune distributed 5,000 kilograms of chicken for free through their 'Dhananjay Jadhav Foundation'. According to the organizers, the purpose of this program is to empower society, but the public is viewing it in connection with the Pune Municipal Corporation elections that are to be held in just a few days.
Areas like Dhanori, Bhairavnagar, Sadbannagar, Jakat Naka, and Munjabawasti in Pune fall under Ward No. 1. The couple Dhananjay Jadhav and Pooja Jadhav, who aspire to become corporators from this very ward, planned to distribute 5,000 kilograms of chicken on Sunday. How could voters who benefit from schemes like free ration and free electricity miss this golden opportunity of free chicken? Thousands of people queued up from morning itself to get chicken.
