Maharashtra politician Pankaj Parakh buys himself a golden shirt worth crores for 45th birthday

August 9, 2014

Mumbai, Aug 9: James Bond's rival had a golden gun. This school dropout is acquiring a golden shirt that weighs four kilograms and costs a staggering Rs.1.30 crore ($214,000).

But then, Pankaj Parakh, a school dropout who made his fortune from his garment fabrication business and who is a corporator to boot, is no stranger to opulence. Whenever he ventures on to the streets in Yeola, 260 km from Mumbai, women stare at him and men glare at him as he is adorned with gold jewellery weighing at least two-three kg.pankaj parakh gold shirt

Now, at a special function on his 45th birthday Friday, Parakh will wear his latest acquisition at a huge gathering that will include the likes of Maharashtra tourism minister Chhagan Bhujbal of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and around a dozen legislators of different parties and celebs.

With the shirt and its seven gold buttons, Parakh hopes to enter the Guinness World Records and the Limca Book of Records.

"Gold has always fascinated me since I was five years old and studying in school. Over the years, I have become passionate about this royal metal. I have got this special shirt stitched to mark my 45th birthday this Friday," said Parakh.

The shirt was designed by Bafna Jewellers of Nashik, 85 km away, and meticulously executed by Shanti Jewellers at Parel in Mumbai, where a team of around 20 select artisans spent 3,200 hours over the past two months to 'stitch' it.

Parakh, who took delivery in Mumbai, offered a sneak peek of his treasured shirt and even wore it for a darshan of the city's famed Siddhivinayak Temple before posing for some pictures near the temple, while curious onlookers watched from a distance.

He said that the gold used in the shirt is of 18-22 carat purity, without any mixture of any other metals - and the entire deal is properly accounted for (an assurance to snoopy tax sleuths!).

Though made of gold, the shirt is fully flexible and comfortable, absolutely smooth and harmless and with a thin cloth lining the inside to avoid rubbing the body.

Besides, it can be washed and hung-dried, and if torn or damaged, can be repaired and modified with a lifetime guarantee of durability, Parakh said.

Recounting his love for gold, Parakh said that in his youth, he could not afford much as he left school after Class 8 and plunged into the family garments business in Yeola, a town of some 60,000 where he is an NCP corporator.

"Yet, for my marriage 23 years ago, many guests considered me an embarrassment as I sported more gold than the bride," he recalled with a chuckle.

Over the years, after taking care of all his family's needs - a good house looked after by wife Pratibha and higher education for his two doting sons Siddharth (22) and Rahul (19), both now in college - Parakh likes to plough back his excess income to finance his passion for acquiring a gilded edge.

"My family is hardly impressed or interested in my love for gold. They just ignore and accept it as a part of domestic life. But the rest of my extended family thinks I am weird," Parakh laughed.

Parakh remembered that when the family attends weddings, he adorns himself with around three kg gold ornaments while his wife looks stark with her 40-50 grams!

"In public, when I go around Yeola, or meet my constituents, I get extreme reactions - some say I flash my wealth, others feel I am poking fun at people's poverty, though women are usually silent observers," he smiled.

However, he felt that though there are many wealthy people in the country, it is his passion for gold - and sheer guts, bolstered by his licensed revolver - that makes him wear so much of the precious yellow metal.

After launching his independent garment business in 1982, he also plunged into politics and has been an elected corporator since 1991.

Yeola is renowned for its Paithani silk saris and the Shalu and Pitamber varieties of saris, considered nationally-recognised brands.

However, despite all the glitter of gold, Parakh turns out to be a genuine, down-to-earth and caring human being, deeply involved in a variety of social and educational activities.

For instance, he has fully financed 120 polio operations in the past five years through the renowned Narayan Seva Sansthan Hospital of Udaipur in Rajasthan.

"I spend at least a week each year to offer voluntary services at the 1,000-bedded hospital, the biggest and best for polio treatment in India. I also arrange for any requirements of the poor patients like food, medicines, surgery and blankets, from which I get immense satisfaction," Parakh said.

Last year Datta Fuge, a businessman from Pimpri-Chinchwad, entered the Guinness World Records with a gold shirt costing Rs.1.27 crore - a record that Parakh hopes to break this year.

Other prominent 'gold men' in Maharashtra include Jagdish Gaikwad of Navi Mumbai (Thane), who rarely ventures outdoors without 3-4 kg gold and the late Maharashtra Navnirman Sena leader from Pune, Ramesh Wanjale, and to a certain extent, Guinness Record holder and famed music director Bappi Lahiri of Mumbai.

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News Network
July 16,2020

Belgaum: Canon, Epson and Nikon reside in a house named "Click" in Karnataka's Belgaum district.

The newly built house of photographer couple Ravi and Krupa Hongal, which resembles a giant DSLR camera, has not only enamoured locals but has become quite a sensation on social media.

The three-storied camera-shaped house located in Shastri Nagar is an expression of passion and love for the art of photography of the couple whose children- three boys- have all been named after the iconic camera brands.

Their names ''Canon'', ''Epson'' and ''Nikon'' feature prominently on the house whose exterior resembles a camera. Just like a camera, the building has a glass window shaped as a viewfinder and another as a lens. It sports a wide film strip, a flash and even a memory card.

The walls of the house walls and its interior have graphics related to photography.

"I have been photographing since 1986. Building this house is like a dream come true. We also named our 3 children-Canon, Nikon and Epson. These all are three camera names. I love the camera and hence named them on camera companies name. My family were opposed to it, but we remain adamant," photographer Ravi told media persons.

Karnataka: A photographer couple, Krupa Hongal&Ravi Hongal, has built a camera-shaped house in Belgaum. Krupa (pic3) says,"It's a dream come true. We also named our 3 children-Canon,Nikon&Epson." Ravi (pic4) says,"We borrowed money for it&also sold our previous house."(14.07.20) pic.twitter.com/8Mkh1JOUk1

— ANI (@ANI) July 14, 2020
The photographer says the couple had to borrow money from relatives and friend for constructing the house. "We also sold our previous house to build this house," he added.

Krupa said that it was their cherished dream to build a house like a camera.

"My husband is a photographer. It was our dream to build a house like a camera. We planned and built this house. We feel like we are living inside a different world, inside a camera. I am very proud of my husband," she said.

Canon, their elder child said, "My friends used to ask me whether it was my real name. Now, I tell them yes, photography is my father's passion and hence he named me Canon."

On social media, the picture of the unique shaped house has been shared widely.

"This is called love for the passion," said one user on Twitter.

Another user commented: "A camera-obsessed photographer from India builds a camera-shaped house! 49-year-old Ravi Hongal has spent over $95,000 building the 3-story house, which looks like a camera in the town of Belgaum in India."

The family seems to be indeed living a picture-perfect dream.

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News Network
February 28,2020

Kozhikode, Feb 28: Nearly 200 Umrah pilgrims from Kerala were deboarded from their flights to Saudi Arabia from Calicut international Airport here on Thursday after the gulf nation enforced a temporary ban on foreigners seeking to visit the holy cities of Makkah and Madina, following coronavirus scare.

Saudi Arabia halted travel to the holiest sites in Islam over fears about a viral epidemic just months ahead of the annual hajj pilgrimage, a move that came as the Mideast has over 240 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus.

According to Airports Authority of India officials, as many as 84 of passengers from the Saudi Airlines and 104 from the Spice Jet Airlines were denied permission to board the flights and travel to Saudi Arabia.

However, other passengers bound to Jeddah were permitted to fly, they said.

A private tour operator here said two batches of 40 pilgrims each were denied permission to travel to Makkah to perform Umrah on February 27.

Umrah is an Islamic pilgrimage that can be performed at any time of year.

"The pilgrims were denied entry by the two airlines, Spice Jet scheduled at 05.30 hrs and Saudi Airlines at 1130 hrs," Naiful Akbar, a travel agent said.

The Airport Authority of India sources said, "the passengers were asked to alight by the Spice Jet airline staff following an instruction received by them."

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News Network
January 12,2020

Bengaluru, Jan 12: Chief Justice of India, Sharad Arvind Bobde on Saturday hinted at the possibility of Artificial Intelligence being developed for the court system while making it clear that it will never replace human discretion.

Speaking at an event here, Bobde said, "We have a possibility of developing Artificial Intelligence for the court system. Only for the purpose of ensuring that the undue delay in justice is prevented."

"I must make it clear at the outset as there are times when even judges have asked this. AI is not going to replace human judges or human discretion", he added.

Sharing more details of his vision, he stated, "It is only the repetitive, mathematical and mechanical parts of the judgments for which help can be taken from the system...we are exploring the possibility of implementing it."

Bobde stressed on the requirement of developing AI for judiciary while outlining the number of pending cases in different courts.

"Some people are in jail for 10-15 years and we are not in position to deal with their appeals. The high court's and Supreme Court take so long and ultimately the courts feel that it is just to release them on bail", he said.

Bobde also endorsed employing every talent and skill to ensure delivery of justice in a reasonable time.

"We must employ every talent, every skill we possess to ensure that justice is received within reasonable time. Delay in justice can't be a reason for anybody to take law into their hands. But it's very important for us as courts to ensure there's no undue delay in justice", he said.

CJI Bobde also highlighted the need for pre-litigation mediation and said, "Pre-litigation mediation is the need of the hour especially in the backdrop of a significant pendency that the courts are tackling with. There are innumerable areas where pre-litigation mediation could solve the problem."

He also stressed that the position of a judge is very unique under the constitution and they have to deal with a variety of problems.

"The foundation of civilisation rests on the law. Judicial officers have to deal with a variety of problems...Judges without adequate knowledge, skills and experience may cause distortion, delay and miscarriage of justice", he said.

Earlier in the day, Chief Justice of India Bobde inaugurated the phase-1 of the new building of the Karnataka Judicial Academy on Crescent Road in Bengaluru.

The new building has three floors, besides, the ground floor and two basement floors.

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