Ramswaroop Munde, who operates Mahadev Cloth Centre at Sudama Chowk in the Varachha area of Gujarat’s Surat city, handed out the festive payments with members of his family present. The bonuses amounted to more than ₹20 lakh altogether, based on the number of recipients and the minimum amount given to each.
Footage circulating widely on social media shows bundles of crisp currency notes arranged on silver-coloured puja plates before being passed to employees. One woman breaks down in tears during the presentation, while other recipients appear surprised by the size and manner of the gifts.
The notes included denominations of ₹10, ₹20, ₹50, ₹100, ₹200 and ₹500. Rather than distributing envelopes or transferring the money electronically, Munde chose to display the cash on decorated trays, turning the bonus distribution into a ceremony attended by his family and staff.
Munde said his decision reflected both the contribution of his employees to the business and his understanding of the financial pressures associated with festivals. He described growing up in poverty and experiencing the difficulties that families can face when trying to meet household needs and festive expenses.
He said he regarded those working at his establishment as members of his extended family rather than simply employees. Their efforts and commitment throughout the year, he explained, had contributed to the growth of the textile business, and he wanted them to share directly in its success.
The trader said the purpose of the payments was to ensure that workers could purchase what their families needed for Diwali without facing the same financial constraints that he had experienced earlier in life. He also indicated that the cost of the distribution had not deterred him from making the payments.
The workforce receiving the gifts was described as comprising 20 women. Munde also linked the presentation to the Rajasthani custom of mamera, under which a maternal uncle traditionally gives money or gifts to female relatives. He said he had chosen to extend a comparable gesture to his employees.
The ceremonial setting was therefore part of the message he wanted to convey. The decorated plates and the presence of family members distinguished the distribution from a conventional workplace bonus, although the money itself remained the principal benefit for recipients.
A recording of the occasion shows the notes being counted and arranged before distribution. Employees stand together as the money is handed over, and some respond with visible emotion. The footage does not establish how individual recipients subsequently used their payments.
Munde’s wife also participated in handing out the cash. The employees’ reactions, including tears and gestures of gratitude, have attracted considerable attention as clips of the presentation have spread across social media platforms since Saturday.
The businessman has spent several years in the textile trade. His explanation for the bonuses centred on the relationship with his staff and the practical value of giving money directly, rather than selecting gifts that might not meet individual household requirements.
The exact amount received by each employee beyond the stated threshold of ₹1 lakh has not been specified publicly. Nor has a detailed breakdown of the total expenditure or the basis for calculating individual bonuses been made available. The reported aggregate therefore represents a minimum, not an independently established final figure.
The payments were presented as festive gifts to staff, rather than as part of an announced company-wide compensation policy. No information has been disclosed about whether similar cash distributions took place in previous years or are planned for future festivals.
The widely circulated footage captures the distribution itself, but does not provide payroll records or other documentation of the payments. Munde has publicly explained his reasons for making the gifts, while the employees shown receiving them have not been identified individually in the available accounts of the ceremony.
The video has also drawn attention to the traditional puja plates used in the presentation. Bundles of different denominations were stacked across the trays, which were carried forward as each employee approached to receive the money.
The ceremony took place ahead of Sunday’s Diwali celebrations, with family members standing alongside the trader during the distribution at his Surat business.
