Bhopal pani puri wallah has a girl, & you’re invited

Bhopal pani puri wallah has a girl, & you’re invited

Ramendra.Singh@timesgroup.com

Bhopal:13.09.2021

A pani puri vendor in Bhopal was so thrilled at having a girl child but also shocked by the frowns he got from certain people that he distributed Rs 50,000-worth of the spicy snacks for free on Sunday to make a point.

“I wanted to show that there should not be any discrimination between girls and boys,” Anchal Gupta, the proud father, told TOI.

“I was on cloud nine after I got the news that I was blessed with a girl child on August 17. But I was shocked by the odd reaction of several people. They pulled a face and cautioned me that I’d have to face financial burden and what not. I didn’t like it and wanted to send a message as a father. I’m proud that I have a daughter,” the 28-year-old said. He decided to celebrate it in a big way — the way he could.

“I am a small vendor with limited earnings. However, I wanted to prove that every parent should feel proud that they are lucky to have a girl child,” said Anchal.

On Sunday, he put up three stalls in Kolar locality and spread the word that free pani puri would be available from 1pm to 6pm. Hundreds turned up. Swamped by the crowd, he made repeated appeals to them to follow Covid precautions, asking those in queue to wear masks and stand at a safe distance until their turn comes. Few heeded his request in rush for free pani puri.

“This is bad. I’ve done this for a noble cause but several people refused to listen to me. I was not expecting such behaviour from them,” Anchal told TOI, looking at the jostling crowd.

Once they knew why he was distributing free pani puri, people were stunned. Many stepped forward to congratulate him, both for having a daughter and sending a message to society.

Anchal Gupta, 28, served free pani puri for a few hours on Sunday as he wanted to celebrate the birth of his daughter and send out a message that parents should feel proud that they have a girl child