The man with the golden shirt! Maharashtra corporator buys shirt worth crores

Yeola Maharashtra James Bonds rival had a golden gun This school dropout is acquiring a golden shirt that weighs four kilograms and costs a staggering Rs130 crore 214000But then Pankaj Parakh a school dropout who made his fortune from his garment fabrication business and who is a corporator to boot is no stranger to opulence Whenever he ventures on to the streets in Yeola 260 km from Mumbai women stare at him and men glare at him as he is adorned with gold jewellery weighing at least twothree kgNow at a special function on his 45th birthday Friday Parakh will wear his latest acquisition at a huge gathering that will include the likes of Maharashtra Tourism Minister Chhagan Bhujbal of the Nationalist Congress Party NCP and around a dozen legislators of different parties and celebsWith the shirt and its seven gold buttons Parakh hopes to enter the Guinness World Records and the Limca Book of RecordsGold has always fascinated me since I was five years old and studying in school Over the years I have become passionate about this royal metal I have got this special shirt stitched to mark my 45th birthday this Friday Parakh told IANS in an exclusive teteatete hereThe shirt was designed by Bafna Jewellers of Nashik 85 km away and meticulously executed by Shanti Jewellers at Parel in Mumbai where a team of around 20 select artisans spent 3200 hours over the past two months to stitch itParakh who took delivery in Mumbai offered a sneak peek of his treasured shirt and even wore it for a darshan of the citys famed Siddhivinayak Temple before posing for some pictures near the temple while curious onlookers watched from a distanceHe said that the gold used in the shirt is of 1822 carat purity without any mixture of any other metals and the entire deal is properly accounted for an assurance to snoopy tax sleuthsThough made of gold the shirt is fully flexible and comfortable absolutely smooth and harmless and with a thin cloth lining the inside to avoid rubbing the bodyBesides it can be washed and hungdried and if torn or damaged can be repaired and modified with a lifetime guarantee of durability Parakh saidRecounting his love for gold Parakh said that in his youth he could not afford much as he left school after Class 8 and plunged into the family garments business in Yeola a town of some 60000 where he is an NCP corporatorYet for my marriage 23 years ago many guests considered me an embarrassment as I sported more gold than the bride he recalled with a chuckleOver the years after taking care of all his familys needs a good house looked after by wife Pratibha and higher education for his two doting sons Siddharth 22 and Rahul 19 both now in college Parakh likes to plough back his excess income to finance his passion for acquiring a gilded edgeMy family is hardly impressed or interested in my love for gold They just ignore and accept it as a part of domestic life But the rest of my extended family thinks I am weird Parakh laughedParakh remembered that when the family attends weddings he adorns himself with around three kg gold ornaments while his wife looks stark with her 4050 gramsIn public when I go around Yeola or meet my constituents I get extreme reactions some say I flash my wealth others feel I am poking fun at peoples poverty though women are usually silent observers he smiledHowever he felt that though there are many wealthy people in the country it is his passion for gold and sheer guts bolstered by his licensed revolver that makes him wear so much of the precious yellow metalAfter launching his independent garment business in 1982 he also plunged into politics and has been an elected corporator since 1991Yeola is renowned for its Paithani silk saris and the Shalu and Pitamber varieties of saris considered nationallyrecognised brandsHowever despite all the glitter of gold Parakh turns out to be a genuine downtoearth and caring human being deeply involved in a variety of social and educational activities