Natubhai Patel
Nominated For : Helping begin a new life in old age.
Initiative - Finding match for senior citizens.
Nominated For : Helping begin a new life in old age.
Initiative - Finding match for senior citizens.
For some, January 26 was the day when everything they had was lost to a massive earthquake. But for Natubhai Patel, this was the day that changed it all. "I used to work in the Kutch-Bhuj region before my retirement. The hotel I stayed in collapsed like pack of cards in seconds. Had it been a working day, I would not have survived," he said.That a few fortunate get a second lease of life, the realisation made Patel scout for ways to help people in distress. "During those days, I was already doing match-making for Patel community youngsters. You can say it is in my genes as my father, a farmer, was also actively involved in the match-making. But work commitment would allow to hold the meets only on week-ends," says the 64-year-old.
The first sarva gnyaati (all caste) sammelan was held in 2002. As this was a free of cost service, Patel called it "Vina Mulye Amulya Sewa" (VMAS).
"During the event, a non-resident Gujarati man who had lost his son in the earthquake came to me. He wanted to find a suitable match for his daughter-in-law. At the same event, a man approached me who was looking for a match for his father-in-law. And this was that moment of awakening that showed me the path to contribute to society. beating the stereotypes, I started thinking about the scores of elderly men and women in need of emotional support," says Patel who was superintendent with the Ministry of Statistics and Implementation. And this paved way for the first senior citizen mela which was held in 2003.
And it is not just big talks that Patel has. He speaks with data which is at the tip of his tongue. "We have 2,500 applications from Jains, 2,200 from Brahmins, 1,800 from Vaishnavs, 1,000 from Patels and 1,500 of other communities. I beg to differ if you think it is a caste matter. We have several classifications. We have found match for 1,550 graduates, 50 undergraduates, 125 professionals, 350 divorcee and 60 senior citizens," he says.
"The sad part is that women are often hesitant to come forward due to taboos. Their percentage is low compared with men. Against the 2,000 applications of divorcee men, we have received applications from only 100 divorcee women. And the trend is common across the sections of the society," he says.
It was Patel’s efforts that twelve couples are united under live-in relationship. From 2002 to 2010, about 55 elderly couple started their second marriage inning. Of these, only three had failed. Patel checked the reasons of the failure and found out that in one case it was property, in second it was the daughter-in-law not wanting a new mother-in-law and in the third case, the man wanted to have sex every day while his partner was not comfortable with this.
"This was the time when the Supreme Court judgment came. And we thought in direction of live-in relation. We then organised the first ever live-in relationship mela for seniors citizens. There are 12 such couples who are in a live-in relationship. VMAS has also conducted three swayamvars till date," says Patel.
Patel has two sons and two daughters-in-law who not only support him but are actively involved in organising all events held under the banner of VMAS across the country. "VMAS has become a big name even outside Gujarat. As it is free of cost, the event is organised purely on sponsorship basis," Patel says.
Be it Aamir Khan featuring him on his show 'Satyamev Jayate' or him getting calls from NRIs even at 2 am, Patel's initiative has been getting a wide-scale acknowledgement from all over the country.
"We have organised match-making events at Bhopal, Mumbai, Faridabad, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Ranchi and many other places. Next in line is Bangalore. We are holding a meet there on February 16. Delhi, Kolkata and Chandigarh are the other places which are on the list. We are also in talks with organisations in the US. If we get sponsorship, we shall organise a meet there as well," says Patel who holds regular matrimonial meets at his house in Vasna.
The first sarva gnyaati (all caste) sammelan was held in 2002. As this was a free of cost service, Patel called it "Vina Mulye Amulya Sewa" (VMAS).
"During the event, a non-resident Gujarati man who had lost his son in the earthquake came to me. He wanted to find a suitable match for his daughter-in-law. At the same event, a man approached me who was looking for a match for his father-in-law. And this was that moment of awakening that showed me the path to contribute to society. beating the stereotypes, I started thinking about the scores of elderly men and women in need of emotional support," says Patel who was superintendent with the Ministry of Statistics and Implementation. And this paved way for the first senior citizen mela which was held in 2003.
And it is not just big talks that Patel has. He speaks with data which is at the tip of his tongue. "We have 2,500 applications from Jains, 2,200 from Brahmins, 1,800 from Vaishnavs, 1,000 from Patels and 1,500 of other communities. I beg to differ if you think it is a caste matter. We have several classifications. We have found match for 1,550 graduates, 50 undergraduates, 125 professionals, 350 divorcee and 60 senior citizens," he says.
"The sad part is that women are often hesitant to come forward due to taboos. Their percentage is low compared with men. Against the 2,000 applications of divorcee men, we have received applications from only 100 divorcee women. And the trend is common across the sections of the society," he says.
It was Patel’s efforts that twelve couples are united under live-in relationship. From 2002 to 2010, about 55 elderly couple started their second marriage inning. Of these, only three had failed. Patel checked the reasons of the failure and found out that in one case it was property, in second it was the daughter-in-law not wanting a new mother-in-law and in the third case, the man wanted to have sex every day while his partner was not comfortable with this.
"This was the time when the Supreme Court judgment came. And we thought in direction of live-in relation. We then organised the first ever live-in relationship mela for seniors citizens. There are 12 such couples who are in a live-in relationship. VMAS has also conducted three swayamvars till date," says Patel.
Patel has two sons and two daughters-in-law who not only support him but are actively involved in organising all events held under the banner of VMAS across the country. "VMAS has become a big name even outside Gujarat. As it is free of cost, the event is organised purely on sponsorship basis," Patel says.
Be it Aamir Khan featuring him on his show 'Satyamev Jayate' or him getting calls from NRIs even at 2 am, Patel's initiative has been getting a wide-scale acknowledgement from all over the country.
"We have organised match-making events at Bhopal, Mumbai, Faridabad, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Ranchi and many other places. Next in line is Bangalore. We are holding a meet there on February 16. Delhi, Kolkata and Chandigarh are the other places which are on the list. We are also in talks with organisations in the US. If we get sponsorship, we shall organise a meet there as well," says Patel who holds regular matrimonial meets at his house in Vasna.
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