By james art Surat: The Mini Bazaar area of Varachha is famous worldwide for its sparkling diamonds. However, few people know that the statue of iron man Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, which stands tall at the crossroads in Mini Bazaar, is perhaps the only statue in the world that has been decorated and cleaned for 365 days out of the last 11 years.
On the occasion of the birth anniversary of India’s iron man Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, celebrations abound in Gujarat and across the country. However, the celebration of Sardar Jayanti is a special moment for the people of Mini Bazaar.
Haribhai Kathiriya, social activist and president of Lok Samarpan Blood Donation Centre, said the Patel Samaj had gone to decorate the statue of Sardar Patel many years ago and came up with the idea of decorating the statue of Sardar for 365 days. For this, the Patel Samaj employed a man named Pandey, who was serving at the Loksamarpan Raktadan Kendra, to clean and garland the statue of Sardar Patel every day. Pandey has been garlanding the statue of Sardar Patel at Mini Bazaar for the past 11 years.
“I arrive early in the morning around 6am in Varaha. I first clean the statue of Sardar Patel with water and then decorate it with flowers. I change the flowers every day. I have been doing this non-stop for 365 days for the last 11 years,” said Pandey.
Haribhai Kathiriya, president of Loksamarpan Raktadan Kendra said, “Nowhere else in India or Gujarat is Sardar Patel’s statue cleaned and garlanded for 365 days. We have been doing this for the last 11 years and it gives us immense joy and pleasure. You visit the Mini Bazaar anytime and the Sardar statue will shine bright as it is newly installed”
Varaha Mini Bazaar is also known as the diamond district of the world. It is here that diamonds are produced in small and large factories located nearby and also traded in the narrow streets. From here the diamonds are sent to Mumbai for export to various parts of the world.