Hindustan Times ST (Jaipur)

No sheen for ‘gold man’ in govt’s idea to limit hold

- Haidar Naqvi haidernaqv­i@hindustant­imes.com

KANPUR: 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.

 ??  ?? Manoj Sengar, Kanpur’s
‘gold man’. HT PHOTO
Manoj Sengar, Kanpur’s ‘gold man’. HT PHOTO

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