VELLORE: Earnest camaraderie could well be the potion for a long life, and when channelled in the right direction this passion between friends could brew a concoction for great change in the society. Take the case of 42-year-old D Anbarasan and his five friends in Vellore. For the past seven years, they have been serving meals to roadside dwellers.
Reminiscent of the saying ‘all big things come from small beginnings’, this noble initiative began from a dustbin. Seven years ago, Anbarasan, a freelance animation artist and marketing employee, was standing at a roadside store, when a chance encounter changed his life. An elderly woman in tattered clothes was frantically foraging for food inside a dustbin. The refuse of some had been holding her body and soul together for several years.
“This sight shook me to the core. I ran back home, gathered all the food in my kitchen and brought it back to the woman. From that day I decided to do everything I could to feed the destitute. But that’s not saying a lot as I don’t earn the big bucks. So, I asked five of my friends to join me in this venture. All of us together contribute a minimum of Rs 2,400 daily to provide the meals,” says Anbarasan.
Cash was always hard to come by and family burden grew heavy on their shoulders. But, nothing could hinder the friends from cooking food daily and hitting the streets. They now serve over 70 people daily. Some days, the group won’t even be able to afford LPG gas to cook the meals. Anbu, one of Anbarasan’s friends, says, “So what? What if we can’t afford cooking gas? We just collect some firewood and prepare the meals. Whatever the ordeal thrown at us, we try our best to feed everyone. However, there have been a few days when things got completely out of control and we couldn’t prepare any food. Times like those are extremely disappointing.”
Further, not all people this group caters to are of sound mind. Sometimes, people with mental illness throw the food right back at their faces. But, this does not dampen the spirits of the team one bit. They also offer self-help development programmes for the disabled and educational support for students in need. “Further, we have helped a minimum of 45 elders reunite with their families,” Anbarasan proudly shares.
Their team had earlier received an award from Irom Chanu Sharmila for their social work, and appreciation from former Puducherry Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi.
(Edited by Alen Moni Mathews)