TV
A 70-year-old beggar from Phulbani in Kandhamal district has earned a place in the central government's 2025 calendar where she features prominently on a page with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The current photograph, featuring the woman, Tula Behera, shaking hands with PM Modi, appears on the January page of the official 2025 calendar of the Union Government. Notably, the image is from their meeting during PM Modi’s visit to Phulbani on May 11 last year, during election campaigning.
Behera made headlines in December 2022 when she donated her life savings of Rs 1 lakh to the Jagannath temple in Phulbani on the occasion of Dhanu Sankranti.
The woman had reportedly collected the funds through years of seeking alms near the temple. However, instead of using the sum for personal use, she contributed Rs 1 lakh towards the renovation of the very temple.
Her selfless act of generosity was driven by her deep devotion to Lord Jagannath. With no family to support her, Behera had long been thinking of returning the 'favour' to her beloved Lord.
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Back then, despite initial hesitation from the temple management to accept money from a beggar, her persistence paid off, and her wish became a reality. She had then expressed her contentment, stating, "I do not need any money. If I could do any service for Lord Jagannath, I will feel the purpose of my life on this earth has been fulfilled."
