Jaipur diary

Badi Deg at Ajmer dargah starts cooking sweet rice
Badi Deg (a huge vessel for cooking) resumed operation at the Dargah of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer after ten months. The cooking had stopped after the outbreak of coronavirus. On Saturday night, rice, sugar, ghee, almonds, cashews, and walnuts were added to 4,800 kg Deg and distributed to people. The Dargah has two Degs — a 4,800-kg Badi Deg and a 2,400-kg Choti Deg — foe cooking sweet rice. The Garib Nawaz Urs will start on February 12 or 13 after seeing the moon; Jannati Darwaza will open at 4 am on Feb 12.

Coaching city turns an exemplar in organ donation vow 
Kota, a city known for its coaching institutions, is setting an example not only in exemplary education but in humanity too. The city has topped the list of eye, organ, and body donations during the lockdown.  A total of 1,020 people have pledged to donate eyes. During the 10 months of the lockdown, people received resolution letters from the Shine India Foundation, and took the pledge from their homes. The  foundation honored the prospective donors by issuing citations. Dr Kulwant Gaur of Shine India Foundation said that the spirit of chipping in their bit for others has seen a positive rise amid the growing scare of the pandemic.  Amid the scare, the of people looking out for others comes as a fresh breath.

Toddler sets record in inland skating 
All of two-and-a-half years of age and he is already a record holder in inland skating. Ajmer’s Siddharth entered the record books after covering one-km in just 16.3 seconds. He is the youngest to pull the feat off, thereby getting an entry against his name in the Golden Book of World Records. Siddharth’s father Mahendra Mandar said that the Golden Book World Record gave Siddharth a certificate on 20 December. Siddharth has been practising on skates ever since he learned to walk. The toddler practises four  to five hours daily.  His family says that Siddharth sleeps with his skates on. 

Gehlot harps on Cong’ tryst with Vedas, Sanskrit  
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has said his government will work on preserving  and teaching Vedic education. Addressing a virtual Ved Sammelan on Vedic Vimarsh for Public Welfare State and Governance, as part National Youth Day, Gehlot said his government has been encouraging scholars to research on Vedas. “Vedas are a treasure trove on the principles of good governance. By adopting them, the concept of public welfare state can be achieved,” he said. “Vivekananda Jayanti was declared as National Youth Day when Indira Gandhi was the prime minister. Ayurveda and Sanskrit universities were established in the state by Congress governments,” he said.

Rajesh Asnani
Our correspondent in Jaipur  rajesh.asnani@ newindianexpress.com