Pune: In a noble gesture for the good of society, an entrepreneur in Pune District’s Ambegaon Tehsil did a social service by saving money on his daughter’s wedding and providing some much-needed infrastructure for the visitors to their village and locals. By spending money cautiously, the entrepreneur personally funded and constructed an iron bridge over a stream in the village.
The entrepreneur has been identified as Deepak Devram Chavare. Recently, his daughter got married, and he funded the wedding. In Hindu culture (particularly in rural parts of India), it can still be seen many times that the bride’s family funds the wedding. However, not giving in to society’s pressure of a lavish and grand wedding, Chavare held an intimate ceremony and used the money he had been saving for his daughter’s marriage for a much-needed infrastructure upgrade for the village.
Being a resident of the Chavare-Elbhar Mala area of Avasari Budruk village in the Ambegaon Tehsil, there is a Shree Mhasoba temple, which is of great cultural and spiritual importance to the villagers. The temple is a little farther than the main village settlement and is across a stream, which is used for local farming. Earlier, to go to this temple, one had to make over five kilometres of detour or go through the stream to the other side -- both of these being too inconvenient.
Elderly people from the village who visited wanted to visit the temple daily but had it particularly hard. Not being able to drive vehicles or swim across the stream, the elderly would often stand on this side of the stream and take the blessings of the lord Mhasoba from far away -- rarely going to the temple.
Observing all this, Deepak Devran Chavare -- who was saving money for his daughter’s wedding for many years -- thought of a noble gesture for villagers. He constructed the iron bridge, which was fully funded by him, last week, and since then, the villagers have been happy and spiritually satisfied.
Background of the Issue
Chavare-Elbhar Mala is located to the east of Avasari Budruk village, adjacent to a local stream. During the monsoon or when canal water is released, the stream becomes impassable. On the other side of this stream lies the Shree Mhasoba Temple, a place of great faith for the local residents. Due to the water levels, women and elderly devotees often had to struggle or perform dangerous manoeuvres to reach the temple. For years, locals had been demanding a small bridge at this spot.
Recently, Shraddha, the daughter of entrepreneur Deepak Devram Chavare and his wife, Chitra Deepak Chavare (a local Gram Panchayat member), got married to Ganesh Deepak Shitole from Pune.
Instead of an extravagant celebration, Deepak Chavare practised financial restraint during the wedding and used the savings to build an iron bridge over the stream. This has now provided a permanent and safe route for senior citizens and women visiting the temple. The local villagers expressed their deep gratitude to the Chavare family for this selfless act.
The Chavare family is well-known for their consistent involvement in social causes. In addition to the bridge, they have also donated Rs 1 lakh to H.B.P. Pankaj Maharaj Gawade for the construction of the Sant Tukaram Maharaj Temple at Bhandara Hill.
