‘Gold man’ finds no sheen in govt’s move
The ‘gold man’ of Kanpur, Manoj Sengar, is disappointed with the government’s proposal to limit holding of gold.
“Every citizen is bound to respect the government and its decision but what is next – a limit on sneezing and coughing?” asks Sengar, who wears gold chains weighing in kilos, a gold belt to support white trousers, gold bracelets on wrists and shoes of silver.By the look of it, he wears about 4 kg of gold jewellery.
He, however, refused to disclose the total quantity of gold he possesses.Ask him about the source of gold, he would guffaw at the query. “Sab baap dada kaa diya hai (my gold is ancestral and inherited). I didn’t sell the family gold and preserved it,” he says.
“If the government asks for the receipts, I will have to go up (heaven) there to ask my forefathers how they got their gold,” he breaks out in laughter.
“Don’t men have the right to be obsessed with gold? Why their holding limit be any different from that for women?” he asks.
Sengar’s love for the glitter of gold goes back to his childhood days. He has been wearing gold since his college days.
His obsession for the precious metal kept growing, and in his words, it would go with him.
Such is his love for gold that he asked his son to open a jewellery store than taking up a job or take up some other business.
“I just visit the jewellery store and keep looking at gold. I do not deal with customers,” he says.Sengar, the city convenor of Kshatriya Mahasabha, was recently in news when he visited the victims of Indore-Patna Express derailment at LLR Hospital and provided them food, drinks and medicines.
The people were surprised to see a man wearing so much gold.
“I spent eight hours to explain to them it was my dream. People have different aspirations. Some want to own Mercedes, Bentley and other big cars. I chose gold,” he says.The day the government proposed amendment to the Income Tax Act to put a cap on holding of gold, Sengar sat down with the newspaper, reading the news item word by word.
He picked up a pen and wrote a ‘doha’ (couplet) – a spin to an original from Tulsidas’ Ramcharitmanas – ‘Jaahi vidhi rakhe Modiji taahi vidhi rahiye, Modiji ki baat maan haanilaabh sahiye’ (Live the way Modiji wants you to, follow his words and bear with the profit or loss).