Amreli farmer gives honourable burial to his beloved hatchback

Amreli farmer gives honourable burial to his beloved hatchback 

FIVE-HOUR SAMADHI FUNCTION CULMINATES WITH DINNER FOR 2,000

Dilip Jiruka 08.11.2024 

Rajkot : All of us have seen police dogs receiving respectable burials as a tribute to their valour in combating terrorists or sniffing out explosives and drugs. In Amreli, however, a farmer's family gave an honourable burial (samadhi) to his beloved car that reached its age. Yes, you heard it right! And it wasn’t a silent sendoff to the hatchback, which the car owner, Sanjay Polra, asserts brought the family immense prosperity and elevated their social standing ever since they drove it out of the showroom in 2006. 

The grand event held in Padarshinga village of Lathi taluka on Thursday was marked by ritualistic prayers to the family deity, after which the car, decked with flowers, was taken out in a procession to the ‘samadhi’ spot on his farm. The function, organised in the presence of saints and local spiritual preachers, culminated with a delectable spread of puris, chapatis, subji, and laddos for all 1,500 villagers and invitees. After hitting upon the ‘samadhi’ idea some days ago, Polra sent out a specially designed four-page invitation to some 2,000 people. 

The invitation read: “This car has been like a family member since 2006, and it brought us good fortunes. We gained prosperity, and our reputation in society was elevated. We want this car in our memory forever, and that's why we have planned a samadhi (burial) of this car.” "I purchased this car in 2006. Ever since I bought it, the vehicle brought my family good luck and elevated our social prestige. I wanted to do something different, so I decided on a respectable adieu in the form of samadhi for the car,” Polra said. The Polra family will offer floral tributes to the memorial on Nov 7 every year. “We will plant trees around the memorial,” said Polra. Vipul Sojitra, a villager, said, "I was amused when he invited me to the samadhi function of a car. The family wanted to do something out of the box for their beloved car.”