With love from Dangon: Saag, makki di roti for Dharmendra on his birth anniv

Serving makki di roti, sarson da saag and arranging two-wheeler driven cart, are among some wishes of the residents of this village they want to see materialise on the 90th birthday of their hero Dharmendra on December 8.

Though it may not be feasible to send a rehri to Mumbai, they are planning to send the famous winter delicacy of Punjab to the Deols.

Paying gratitude to the Almighty for answering their prayers for Dharmendra’s recovery, his fans led by social activist Kulwinder Singh Dangon said the Almighty must now grant them an opportunity to see Dharmendra taste his favourite dish.

“Having learnt that the Deol family has expressed hope for marking Dharmendra’s milestone 90th birthday next month, we were reminded of his desire he expressed to savour saag and makki di roti while squatting near a traditional earthen oven (chulah), besides riding a two-wheeler driven cart, during our meeting at a hotel in Chandigarh,” Kulwinder Dangon said, appreciating that the veteran actor had invited his associates and him to Chandigarh in 2013.

Though Dharmendra had visited Dangon and surrounding localities two years later in April 2015, both his desires remained unfulfilled due to his packed schedule.

Kulwinder added that the sarson leaves would be plucked from the fields cultivated by families of Shingara and Manjit Singh, whom Dharmendra had gifted his parental agricultural land measuring around two acres on April 7, 2015. The said gift deed was signed by Dharmendra at Swami Ganga Giri Girls College, Raikot, and executed at the office of Sub- Registrar.

Villagers appreciated that despite all his limitations, Dharmendra had remained emotionally attached with his native village where his father Kewal Krishan and grandfather Narain Dass were born and raised. As crowds of fans coming from surrounding villages used to be unmanageable for the locals, Dharmendra resorted to making visits in disguise. Besides being proud of their son’s stardom, villagers are appreciative of his humble nature and love for the soil of Dangon. “Whenever we used to thank him for bringing laurels to the village and the Deol clan, he used to respond that his success was due to blessings and best wishes of the villagers,” his cousin Manjit Singh said.