A steady supply of pizzas, biryani, langar, fruits and even golgappas have turned into protest essentials at the Jantar Mantar, where volunteers from different walks of life have joined hands to keep hundreds of students participating in the ongoing CJP protest fed and hydrated.
As the protest demanding accountability over the NEET paper 'leak' and resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan continued, Jantar Mantar has transformed into a community kitchen, with office-goers, elderly citizens, children and community groups standing shoulder to shoulder, serving meals, snacks and refreshments to the agitators.
The menu also reflects the preferences of the largely young crowd: pizzas, biryani, chips, biscuits, fruit juices and cold drinks, while local vendors are offering golgappas and dahi bhallas to the protesters, all free of cost.
Many food packets also carried portable hand fans to help the protesters keep cool amid the humid weather.
The Sikh community, including Nihang Sikhs, who had joined the protest on Tuesday, organised a langar that continued through Wednesday, serving fresh meals to anyone walking in.
Many children were spotted distributing water bottles, while the elderly volunteers handed out bananas and seasonal fruits to the gathering.
Ravi Maurya, an employee with a multinational company in Delhi who took leave from work to volunteer, said support was arriving from across the country and even overseas.
"People from different states are sending food and drinking water. We are also receiving contributions from Indians living abroad. Everyone wants to help the students in whatever way they can," Maurya said.
The volunteers started placing hand fans inside food packets after noticing students sitting for hours in the scorching heat, he said.
"It may be a small gesture, but we felt every packet should carry something that can provide a little comfort," Maurya added.
Among those distributing snacks was Isha, a NEET aspirant who had dropped a year and come to the protest site to volunteer with her cousin.
"We understand the uncertainty faced by the students. We wanted to contribute in whatever way we could, and bringing snacks felt like the simplest way to support them," Isha said, adding that she and her cousin saved their pocket money to purchase the snacks.
A walk through the protest site also revealed small moments of camaraderie.
A student eating biscuits offered one to a fellow protester sitting beside him. When she declined, he smiled and said, "You have one, I will have one. This way we will finish the packet together."
An elderly woman distributing fruits said she saw the students as her own children. "I wanted to make sure they eat something healthy. If they are sitting here for hours, the least we can do is look after them," she said.
Amit, a college student distributing water bottles, said that strangers had come together with a common purpose. "It is very hot, and many students have been here since morning. If giving someone a bottle of water helps them stay here a little longer, that is enough for me," Amit said.
The sit-in at the Jantar Mantar has been continuing after Monday's police crackdown on the CJP-led 'Sansad Chalo' march, when police lathi-charged and tear-gassed the protesters as they attempted to march towards Parliament on the first day of the Monsoon Session.
And as chants demanding action against alleged examination irregularities echo across the protest venue, the volunteers are quietly moving through the crowd with trays, cartons and meal packets, proving that food had become one of the strongest expressions of solidarity.
(With inputs from PTI)