Sugarcane Juice Seller's Casual Meet Blossoms Into Lifelong Friendship With Shivraj Singh Chouhan

Bengaluru: On the way to Shani Shinganapur, the abode of Lord Shanidev, you happen to come across any number of roadside outlets selling sugarcane juice crushed in cold pressed wooden units and operated by a bull. These units are a big hit to the visitors as the taste of the sugarcane juice produced here tastes entirely different from the ones you taste in the fuel-run iron units. Rushikesh Maruti Adsore and Somanath of Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth (MPKV), Rahuri took us to 'Mama Rasavanti Centre', displaying a hoarding of Shivraj Singh Chouhan and explained the significance of the outlet.

Mamu's tryst with Mama: Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and 23rd Minister of Rural Development is a regular visitor to Shani Shinganapur on the eve of New Year and every year. He has made it a practice for more than 15 years. During one such sojourn in 2010, he chanced upon paying a visit to one such outlet run by Kailash Avhad. It was a sheer accident and then he was the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh.

Just a humble beginning: Kailash Avhad noticed some bodyguards approaching his shop and was not aware of what was going on there and checked with them about the commotion. He was pleasantly surprised, shocked at the same time about the VIP customer after being told that it was none else than Shivaraj Singh Chouhan, Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh.

An annual practice: That was just the beginning and it has almost become a regular annual practice for the VIP visitor to find time soon after paying obeisance to Lord Shanidev to visit the outlet named after him. According to Kailash Avhad, it was Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who insisted he name the outlet in his name.

Tweet, hits and surge in business: Shivraj Singh Chouhan's visits with family members and subsequent tweets, and sharing of videos on social media evinced thousands of hits enabling a surge in the business of Kailash Avhad.

Acquaintance turns into a lifelong relationship: Shivraj Singh Chouhan's chance visit to Kailash Avhad's outlet near Vanzarwadi village over a while evolved into a lifelong relationship. The VIP family members have also become close friends with the remaining members of Kailash Avhad as well. Kailash Avhad reminisces-'Not just Shivraj Singh Chouhan, even his wife Mrs Sadhana Singh Chouhan, his both sons Kartikey Chouhan and Kunal Chouhan also accompany him on all his visits. Even our family members also visit them in Bhopal and New Delhi'.

Proud of a farmer turned entrepreneur: On the reasons of Shivraj Singh Chouhan becoming close with him and his family members, Kailash Avhad exclaims-He is happy that a farmer has developed into an entrepreneur and doing well in the business and expects the same from the farming community, by and large.

Invitation to attend son's marriage: Kailash Avhad also appeared elated while informing that his family has been invited to attend the marriage of Kartikey Chouhan, son of Shivraj Singh Chouhan on 14th February.

Birthday celebration: Another reason for Shivraj Singh Chouhan promptly turning up at 04 PM on the first of January every year is that 01 January happens to be the birthday of Mama Rasavanti Centre owner. On arrival, he finds time to exchange pleasantries with the family members and rejoice in offering sugarcane juice to all those present, followed by a small cake-cutting ceremony. However, says Kailash Avhad-This year Mama couldn't make it on the 1st of January as he was busy with a meeting in the Parliament, but made it on the 2nd instead. He enjoyed making the juice by inserting sugarcane into the wood-pressed unit.

Dangerous blood sugar level: Apart from all the sweet things in Kailash Avhad's life his blood sugar level of 300 looks scary. Yet, he doesn't believe in taking medicines for the same and rubbishes the very thought. He claims that he does enough manual work to burn the calories and he can run even for a kilometre, to boast of his physical capabilities.

-Manohar Yadavatti

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