Sahnewal remembers Dharmendra on his 90th birth anniv with gajrela

Sadness and nostalgia overpowered the residents of Sahnewal as they celebrated the 90th birth anniversary of their beloved son Dharmendra, who bade a forever goodbye to his town.

The bittersweet moments were commemorated by the townsters by gathering at the popular Lambardar Sweet Shop, one of Dharmendra’s darling spots in the town, where he used to enjoy his most cherished treat, gajar ka halwa.

Sampuran Singh Sanam along with Dharmendra’s associates Harbans Singh Sains, Naresh Kumar, Ramesh Sood, Ranjit Singh, Rajan Gill, Harpreet Singh and Rahul Singh today remembered his contributions for putting Sahnewal on the map.

“Sahnewal underwent a grand transformation due to the illustrious career of this son, who not only carried it to Bollywood but popularised it the world over. Never for once did he abandon his town but spoke so fondly about it every time we visited him in Mumbai. His hospitality made our visits truly special as he would urge us to stay longer and make our visits more frequent,” Harbans Singh Sains said.

Sampooran Singh Sanam, his close associate, while distributing gajar ka halwa to the residents said that his heart felt heavy today. “Today we are remembering our son by preparing and distributing his favourite sweet. Had he been alive, things would have been entirely different. As in the past, this year too we had planned to take Dharam ji’s all-time favourite gajar ka halwa from his home town to the film capital on his 90th birthday,” he added.

“But nature had something else in store for our ever young, radiant and charismatic hero. Today, we miss him for every little thing associated with him. We remember how our hero sat endlessly near the rail tracks yearning to board the train to Bombay to prove his salt, despite his father’s chidings.

We recall how our champion watched movies and returned late to request temporary accommodation at the roof of Lambardar halwai’s shop. We also remember how our star, despite achieving the pinnacle of glory, remained humble and connected withhis friend,” he added.

School of Eminence, where Dharmendra received his primary education, today celebrated the day by with a special assembly of students coming together to hear about the aspirations and will power of the small child Kumar Dharmendra, who dreamt big and achieved bigger.

Principal Dr Mandeep Kaur and media coordinator Gursewak Singh shared that their school had become synonymous with Dharamendra’s name, who proved that nothing was impossible, if one willed.

“We not only told the students about our proud alumnus but also distributed saplings for them to plant near their homes in remembrance of the great hero The live example of the hero, who sat on the same benches on which the present students sit, is a boost enough for them to keep pursuing their dreams and wait for them to materialise one fine day,” Gursewak Singh shared.