This story is from October 18, 2017

Motley crew whips up a feast for the homeless, and feeds them at sight

Motley crew whips up a feast for the homeless, and feeds them at sight
(Anti-clockwise from top) The team in prep mode; with the packed meals; distributing food at Rajendernagar slum; a happy Mary.
(This story originally appeared in on Oct 18, 2017)
It’s 8 o’clock on a Monday night. Maryamma is sitting outside St Mary’s Basilica in Shivajinagar, hoping it doesn’t rain. The last few days have been difficult for her as the downpour kept people indoors. “Usually, I don’t have a problem on Sundays as devotees and shoppers give us money and food. But weeknights are a problem,” says the 74-year-old, who depends heavily on alms to meet her everyday needs.
Tonight, however, she and others like her will feast on vegetable pulao and raitha, thanks to a group of Bengalureans who are ensuring that even the homeless people of the city have a good Deepavali.
The group, spearheaded by Swati Mahesh Keerthipati, started as a small initiative that aimed at reaching out to the needy during festivals. Swati, a homemaker who also helps in her family’s hotel business, says: “I started this with my husband and son, and with help from a few friends in Mysuru and Bengaluru. But soon, more people expressed interest in being a part of it and now we have a team.”
On Monday, the group was distributing food packets around KR Market and Shivajinagar areas. The plan was to hand out 1,200 food packets. But a lot of it was yet to be given. “Because of the rains, many of the homeless here have moved to warmer places. This is why we don’t have the usual numbers here,” explains Swati as she talks to one of her contacts in Ejipura to distribute the remaining 300-plus food packets.
In Ejipura, Sulaiman, a social worker, took the team to slums in Rajendra Nagar and Koramangala 8th Block. Most of these people live in shanties or near open drains.
“Every day, I bring food for around 400 people here from tech companies in RMZ Ecospace who donate food as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative. But in the last two days, Ecospace has been unreachable due to flooding and canteens have stayed closed. These food packets have come as a relief for the slum-dwellers here,” says Sulaiman, as he goes about the distribution.
THE TEAM
While most others in the city would plan a holiday during Deepavali, Swati and her group of volunteers have been hard at work,
chopping vegetables and cooking up the treat in Basavanagudi.
The group consists of people from all walks of life – most of them are students, others are IT professionals and entrepreneurs. There is even a magician, Mahesh Naik.
“After joining this group, the happiness I get out of every outing is the real magic. That is not fake,” says Naik.
“This is my first outing with this team. I am eager and elated to be a part of this initiative,” says Vindhya T, a marketing entrepreneur.
Krutika Shetty is one of the core members of the team. She graduated this year as a software engineer and works with an education app developer. Engineering students Vinay BV, Rajeev Roshan and Simran are an enthusiastic bunch. They were the first ones to arrive with vegetables to start off the day.
“We pool in the money and today, we are aiming to feed close to 1,200 people across the city. We usually look for the homeless rather than those at destitute homes.
These are the people who face maximum neglect. Homes and shelters still have help, but the people on the streets have nobody,” says Swati.
If the word spreads and more volunteers join the group in its initiative, Swati says they will be happy to have more hands on board. But even if someone is encouraged to do their bit individually in a small way, the world would be better for it, she says.
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