As flood situation worsens in Punjab, former External Affairs Minister and Member of Parliament, Preneet Kaur, on Tuesday opted the age-old tradition after a gap of 29 years by presenting ‘nath’ (nose pin) and ‘chura’ (bridal bangles) to Patiala’s raging Badi Nadi (river) along with her daughter Jai Inder Kaur, praying the river to ‘calm down’ and spare lives.
Wife of BJP leader Amarinder Singh, Preneet Kaur is popularly known as Maharani Sahiba because of her royal antecedents. The mother-daughter duo first offered obeisance at Burj Baba Ala Singh-ji at Patiala’s historic Qila Mubarak, where ‘ardaas’ and ‘puja’ were held for the safety and prosperity of Patiala and Punjab, and then they preceded to offer the ‘nath’ and ‘chuda’ at Badi Nadi bridge near Sabji Mandi.
The river has crossed the danger mark and its flooded water has entered a large number of localities and nearby villages where the Indian Army has been deployed to rescue the people.
Later talking to the media, Preneet Kaur said: “Due to incessant rains during the last few days there is an impending flood-like situation in Patiala and many other places in Punjab. This (presenting of ‘nath’ and ‘chura’) has been an age-old tradition of Patiala and had been done during 1994 floods also.”
“First we held ‘puja’ and ‘ardaas’ at the historic Burj Baba Ala Singh-ji and then here me and my daughter Jai Inder Kaur presented the traditional items to the raging Badi Nadi of Patiala. I pray that may God bless us all and we overcome this massive problem we are currently facing,” said a soft-spoken Preneet Kaur, who is known to be an easy access to the public, more than her husband.
The Patiala MP appreciated the efforts of the administration by saying: “Our Patiala district administration and the Indian Army are doing commendable efforts to ensure safety and security of everyone and are rescuing the people in need.
“I urge the people of Patiala not to panic and support the district administration in their efforts to safeguard everyone. If needed, people can migrate temporarily to the special shelters setup by the administration.”
Answering a query regarding Amarinder Singh, she said: “Maharaja Capt Amarinder Singh was supposed to come today but he couldn’t travel due to bad weather and he requested me and Jai Inder to fulfill this family tradition.”
On a query about Opposition’s comments, she replied: “Today is not a day to do politics and we didn’t come here as politicians, we are here as citizens of Patiala and I urge you all also not to pay any heed to these unnecessary politically motivated comments. This was a major demand (presenting of ‘nath’ and ‘chura’) coming from the people of Patiala for the last two days and we are here to fulfill that.”
(Vishal Gulati can be contacted at gulatiians@gmail.com)
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