While most companies mark Diwali by handing out boxes of sweets and dry fruits, a textile trader in Surat has surprised his 20 employees with a festive bonus that has moved them to tears and won hearts across the country. Ramswaroop Munde, who runs a textile business in Gujarat's commercial hub, gave each of his employees more than Rs 1 lakh in cash, presenting the money on silver-coloured ceremonial puja thalis in a gesture that has gone viral on social media.
A video of the distribution has been widely shared online, drawing thousands of comments from people praising the trader's generosity. The footage shows bundles of fresh currency notes, in denominations of Rs 10, Rs 20, Rs 50, Rs 100, Rs 200 and Rs 500, neatly arranged on the platters. Each employee received a cash gift exceeding one lakh rupees, presented to them by their own wives in a ceremony that left several workers visibly emotional.
With each employee receiving more than Rs 1 lakh, the total distribution crossed Rs 20 lakh, making it one of the most generous festive bonuses reported anywhere in the country this Diwali. The scale of the gesture, and the thoughtfulness with which it was carried out, has set it apart from the routine corporate gifts that usually mark the festival.
Munde, who operates the Mahadev Cloth Centre at Sudama Chowk in the Varachha area of Surat, a part of the city known for its thriving textile and diamond industries, said the gesture came from his own experience of growing up in poverty and understanding the financial difficulties that families face, particularly during festivals. Speaking to Aaj Tak over the phone, he said his employees were not merely people working at his shop but an extension of his family.
Having been in the textile business for several years, Munde said he understood how much his staff's hard work and dedication throughout the year contributed to the success of his business. He added that he decided to give each of them over Rs 1 lakh in cash, without worrying about the expense or making a show of the gesture. The money, he said, was his way of sharing the festival's joy with the people who had helped build his business.
He explained that the gesture was rooted in family values, gratitude and a traditional Rajasthani custom. Munde, who is originally from Rajasthan, said the money was his way of celebrating mamera, a traditional Rajasthani custom associated with a woman's maternal family. The ceremony reflected that tradition, with the cash presented on decorated puja thalis and handed over in the presence of family members.
The employees who received the bonus were women, according to reports, and the presentation ceremony was designed to honour them in a way that went beyond a simple cash payment. Instead of handing out cash in envelopes, Munde arranged the bundles of currency notes on silver-like ceremonial thalis, turning the distribution into a celebration in its own right. The wives of the employees were invited to present the gifts, adding a personal and familial touch to the occasion.
The video of the distribution captures the emotion of the moment. Employees are seen receiving the thalis with tears in their eyes, overwhelmed by the size and the thoughtfulness of the gift. For many of them, a bonus of more than Rs 1 lakh represents several months of earnings, and the money will make a real difference to their families during the festive season and beyond.
The gesture has struck a chord at a time when the debate about how businesses treat their workers is very much alive in India. Diwali bonuses are a long-standing tradition in Indian workplaces, but they are usually modest: a box of sweets, a small cash gift, or a voucher for an online store.
Munde's decision to give each employee more than Rs 1 lakh in cash, and to spend more than Rs 20 lakh in total, stands in sharp contrast to that tradition, and it has prompted many online commentators to ask why more employers do not share their success more generously with their staff.
Surat itself is a fitting setting for the story. The city is one of India's great commercial centres, built on textiles and diamonds, and its economy depends on the labour of hundreds of thousands of workers in mills, workshops and trading firms. The textile trade, in particular, has long been the backbone of the city's prosperity, and traders like Munde have built substantial businesses on the back of their employees' work.
His gesture is, in that sense, a recognition of the relationship between an employer's success and the people who make it possible.
The timing of the bonus, ahead of Diwali, also matters. The festival is the most important celebration in the Hindu calendar, a time when families spend heavily on gifts, new clothes, sweets and decorations. For workers on modest wages, the festival can be a source of financial strain as much as joy. A bonus of more than Rs 1 lakh removes that strain entirely, allowing families to celebrate without worry and to set something aside for the year ahead.
Munde's own background gives the gesture added resonance. He has spoken about growing up in poverty and understanding, from personal experience, what it means for a family to struggle financially during a festival. That understanding, he said, shaped his decision to give generously rather than symbolically. The bonus was not a publicity exercise, he insisted, but a personal act of gratitude towards people he regards as family.
The response on social media has been overwhelmingly positive. Thousands of users have shared the video and praised Munde, with many contrasting his generosity with the modest gifts that most companies offer their employees. Some have called on other business owners to follow his example, while others have simply expressed admiration for a gesture that puts people before profit.
There is also a wider lesson in the story about the changing expectations of Indian workplaces. As the country's economy grows, workers are increasingly aware of the value they create, and employers who recognise that value openly are finding that generosity builds loyalty in a way that no amount of corporate messaging can match.
Munde's employees are unlikely to forget a Diwali when their employer gave them more than Rs 1 lakh each, and the goodwill generated by the gesture is likely to last far longer than the money itself.
For now, the story of the Surat trader and his employees has become one of the most shared Diwali stories of the year. It is a reminder that the festival's oldest message, that prosperity is best enjoyed when it is shared, still resonates, and that sometimes the most meaningful gift is not a box of sweets but a genuine recognition of the people who make a business what it is.
(Reporting based on NDTV and Business Today.)