VIZIANAGARAM: He has been running a kitchen from the past six decades. Feeding the poor and destitutes has become an integral part of his life. Inspired by Huzoor Hazarath Khadar Vali Baba’s speeches as a teenager, he is following in his guru’s footsteps by feeding the hungry.
79-year-old Mahmood Attaullah Shariff Shataj Khadiri Baba,a disciple of Huzoor Hazarath Khadar Vali Baba of Babametta in Vizianagaram, has started a 24x7 kitchen to provide food for needy at Khadar Vali Baba Dargah of Babametta area in Fort Town.
He cooks chicken/mutton biryani for 400 to 500 people daily and distributes it to the needy at bus stand, railway stations, temples and mosques across the town. He has been doing this for the past 64 years. Baba serves food to more than 30,000 people per day on special days such as Ursu Vustav in the name of Annadanam. He prepares and serves food to the hungry who come to the Dargah. The Khadiri Baba kitchen is the only hope for people during Covid-19 time.
During the first wave, he distributed 1,27,800 food packets in in Vizianagaram. Biryani Baba as he is called, his kitchen has become a food destination for migrant workers who traveled to their native places through Vizianagaram. During the second wave, he is preparing food for at least 800 to 1,000 people per day. His son Khaleel Babu loads a push cart with food packets and distributes them to the needy.
Speaking to TNIE, Attaullah Shariff Shataj Khadiri Baba said, “I am following my guru’s words as law from the last six decades by feeding the hungry. I believe that hunger has no caste or religion. Service to humans is equal to service to God. I am just providing meals to the needy with the help of donors and devotees. I will continue doing this service until my last breath and I hope my family will continue my legacy. I appeal to the public to help the poor.”
Biryani Baba’s son, who is in charge of food distribution, Khaleel Babu said, “My father has four children. All of us would follow in the footsteps of my father and his guru Hazarath Khadar Vali Baba.”