UTTAR PRADESH: If over 1,200 people attending to their ill family members at government hospitals don’t go hungry, it is for the tireless effort of one ‘foodman’. Meet Vishal Singh, 43, a first-generation entrepreneur, who has made it his life’s mission to feed those accompanying their critically ill kin at three Lucknow hospitals – King George’s Medical University, Balrampur Hospital and Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital.
The root of this selfless service lies in Singh’s own tribulations. In 2003, he was attending to his ailing father at a hospital in Gurugram. The treatment would cost him an arm and leg, leaving him very little money to arrange a square meal for himself. “My father was sick. He had asthma coupled with
a lung infection. For weeks, he was in a hospital. Ours is a middle-class family and after expenses on medicines and the hospital bills, we had no money to feed ourselves,” Singh recollects.
Singh, a native of Roorkee, lost his father to the ailment. He came to Lucknow to make a living. But a resolve was growing deep within; whenever he was capable, he would ensure that not a single person attending to patients at hospitals went hungry. “To serve nar (man) is to serve narayan (God),” believes the graduate in astrology.
He chose government hospitals to launch his initiative as these are majorly frequented by poor people, those who can barely afford the costs of treatment. Government hospitals provide free medication and food to patients, but those attending to their ill family members at these hospitals can hardly arrange a meal for themselves. In 2005, he was contacted by King George’s Medical University (KGMU) authorities to serve those attending to patients.
He was also given a space to set up his kitchen. With this, he began ‘Prasadam Seva’, serving three square meals a day to around 100 people. ‘Prasadam Seva’ was an instant hit and the response to his initiative encouraged him to broaden his service. The routine of feeding the kin to patients continued day after day.
Besides, KGMU, Balrampur Hospital and Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital seeing his dedication, agreed to give him a place to run his kitchen. Now, the scope of his initiative has grown to include the three prominent government hospitals and the newly set-up DRDO COVID facility in Lucknow.
However, his initial days in Lucknow were extremely tenuous. Singh worked as a parking lot attendant at Hazratganj, also washing dishes at a small restaurant to stay afloat. But his dream was never out of sight. After nearly four years of struggle, which also involved running a tea stall, he finally reached some affluence through an electrode factory and his real estate business.
Then, it was time to aid those in need. In 2007, he formed the Vijayshree Foundation, named after his father Vijay Bahadur Singh. At present, Vishal Singh’s ‘Prasadam Seva’ feeds over 1200 people every day without charging a single penny. This number went up to nearly 2500 during the Covid pandemic. During the second wave of the pandemic his foundation distributed over 7.5 lakh food packets, a feat which earned him an award from the UP governor.
Initially, Singh ran ‘Prasadam Seva’ entirely out of his own resources. Now, after 16 years, when he has earned considerable reputation through his work, he doesn’t accept any monetary help. “I welcome only contributions in terms of grains to add to the kitchen,” he says.
Everyday tokens are distributed by ‘Prasadam Seva’ between 12.30 pm and 3.30 pm at the three hospitals for the free food service. The regular menu comprises of roti, daal, rice, two vegetables, salad and papad. Occasionally, and this number is now growing, the food is sponsored by donors to mark their birthdays and anniversaries. Then the menu changes to include some pleasant surprises.
Singh never compromises on the quality of what he serves. He says, “I consider that I am feeding guests at my daughter’s wedding. How can it be substandard?”
Managing this humongous task day in and day out is no little matter. He often runs into debt. But an innate drive to feed those in need keeps him going. Perhaps this is why the caller tune on his mobile phone number repeats the famous Bollywood number from the 60’s, ‘Kisi ke muskurahaton pe ho nissar, kisi ka dard mil sake toh le udhar, kisi ke waaste ho tere dil mein pyar… Jeena Isi ka naam hai (If you are devoted to make someone smile, if you can borrow the pain from another, if there is love that you can share, you are indeed alive).”