KOCHI: For 44-year-old Anaz Panavally, his humble autorickshaw isn’t just a means of livelihood. It is the vehicle for a quiet, persistent mission against hunger in Kochi. While he spends his days ferrying passengers, Anaz dedicates his meagre earnings and spare time to buying food packets and distributing them to the city’s poor and homeless.
This life-altering commitment was sparked by a deeply affecting incident that happened in 2019 at Jose Junction. Anaz, originally hailing from Panavally in Alappuzha district and driving an autorickshaw in Kochi for 18 years, witnessed a distressing sight.
“Dusk had set in, and suddenly, I was distracted by a squabble,” Anaz recalled. Three persons, including a woman, were fighting fiercely over a single plate of rice someone had given them. “That was an eye-opener. Until then, I looked at the people living on the streets passively. But this thought came to my mind that they too are humans with all feelings and emotions,” he said.
The sight of desperation for a basic meal ignited a profound empathy. Since then, he has used whatever savings he can scrape together from his earnings to buy and distribute food. He remembers the immense satisfaction of buying a meal for a six-year-old girl on the roadside in Kundannoor, a feeling that cemented his path. For the past six years, he has been striving to distribute water bottles to traffic police personnel, pedestrians, and school students during hot summer days.
Sustaining the goodness
Anaz supports a family of five, so finding money for this mission is a daily struggle. Yet, his commitment has drawn the attention of other Good Samaritans. What started with a couple of food packets is now an average distribution of nearly 40 packets a day.
“It’s difficult to find the money... I have to sustain my family as well,” he admitted. But word of his selfless acts spread. Some local shops, curious about the man buying so many food packets daily, now offer them to him free of cost. Others who learn about his mission — often through his posts on social media — contribute money or food, especially on special occasions like birthdays and anniversaries.
“If no one turns up, then I will still be satisfied if I can buy a couple of food packets with the day’s earnings,” he said.
Anaz has come across different types of people. “An elderly person used to come and sit at the same place at Lisie Junction, waiting for the food packet. One day, I enquired about his family and other details. To my surprise, he said he owns some land and a house at Thammanam. But his family doesn’t want him. He told me he finds more comfort in the street than at home,” he said.
A gifted dubbing artist
Anaz’s altruism is just one facet of his life. He also harbours artistic talent and is a member of FEFKA (Film Employees Federation of Kerala). A chance meeting with Malayalam dubbing artist Praveen Harisree five years ago opened the doors for him to pursue his dream as a film dubbing artist. He has since done small dubbing roles in films like Private and Dasettante Cycle, among others. He has also lent his voice in a small part in the upcoming Mammootty-starrer Kalamkaval.
Recently, Anaz and his family moved into a small new house in Chandiroor, moving out of a dilapidated hut prone to waterlogging. He believes this blessing is a reward for his good deeds.
“A good soul, who I had never met, gave me a certain sum, and I took a bank loan to raise the rest of the amount,” he said.
Whether distributing food to the hungry or water bottles to traffic police and students in the summer heat, Anaz’s quiet acts of kindness continue to brighten the streets of Kochi, one meal and a bottle at a time.