Lakshman is a ‘pahadi’ (a term used for people living in the hilly regions). He shifted to Delhi in search of a better living. He began living in Delhi’s Karawal Nagar and, along with his brother, started preparing and selling Chinese food on a cart.
The brothers specialised in momos. Their eatery soon became quite well-known in the area. The cart was largely run by Lakshman’s brother while he focused on cooking for officers of the nearby police station.
Their luck, however, was soon about to run out. Before the nationwide lockdown was imposed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus last year, Lakshman’s contract with the police canteen expired. In the lockdown, his brother’s momos business stopped fetching money too. Whatever the brothers had saved, was exhausted within a few weeks.
A silver lining appeared for Lakshman when he happened to share his grief with our volunteer Kartikeya, who then told our founders about the plight of Lakshman.
Sewa Nyaya Utthan Foundation rushed to Lakshman’s help. We employed him as a cook for our free food distribution drives.
The meals he prepared fed those who were not able to afford them during the pandemic. Lakshman, meanwhile, got a source of income. Importantly, much like Lakshman from the epic Ramayana, our Lakshman also got a lifeline. A sanjeevani.
Lakshman is one of the many individuals whom we have helped through our food distribution drives. These drives have linked two deprived sections of society. The hungry have been fed and the unemployed have been provided with work.
Lakshman cooked for us for almost 50 days, and we paid him per thali. He involved his family in the preparation of food as well and joined us in distributing the food packets too.
Lakshman continues to be in touch with us and says that he is still left with a few hundred rupees out of the money that he had earned from our kitchen service.
Support Sewa Nyaya Utthan Foundation so that we can, in turn, support people like Lakshman and give them renewed hope.
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