Mumbai's Mother-Son Duo Are Helping The Needy, Have Distributed 13,500 Meals In Last 157 Days

Harsh Mandavia and his mother Heena, who run Harsh Thali and Parathas, a delivery kitchen in Kandivali, Mumbai, are responsible for distributed more than 13,500 meals to needy people in 157 days. This is since May. It all began as a one-day food donation drive for the needy during COVID lockdown, as per a TNN report.

On May 7, Harsh posted appreciating one of his regular customers, Abhinav Chaudhary, who had donated money for food for 100 people. Chaudhary asked them to find those who needed food as he did not want to go out with the COVID threat at its peak. Harsh located an area outside a Malad Gurdwara and he fed the first batch of 100 people. The meal consisted of home-cooked roti, sabzi, dal and rice.

"The food is prepared in our delivery kitchen under hygienic conditions while keeping the safety norms in mind. My Maa supervises the preparations. After packaging, I take the food to the distribution centres during the lunch hours," Harsh said.

#FeedTheNeedy donation drive

The social media appreciation post prompted hundreds of people to come forward and donate money keep the #FeedTheNeedy donation drive going.

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Baby steps at first

Since then, Harsh has been out on the streets of Kandivali and Malad every day to distribute food to 40-50 people which include migrants, daily wage earners who have been jobless, BMC garbage collectors, watchmen, rickshaw drivers, housemaids and underprivileged children. "I personally go to places like railway stations, skywalks, highway and nearby slum areas to distribute the food," he said.

"In the first two days, we received Rs 11,000. I kept posting pictures and videos of food donation drives every week and donations kept pouring in," he added.

In 157 days, the amount increased to Rs 8 lakh. Harsh said that the amount donated doesn't matter. People have donated anything from Rs 5 to Rs 41,000.

About 260 people from 9 countries, including the USA, UAE, Germany, Australia, Saudi Arabia and Hong Kong have donated for the cause. Over 35,000 tawa rotis have been distributed in the last five months.

Also feed orphans and elderly people

The mother-son duo also feeds orphans and elderly people in ashrams and orphanages on the weekends.

When donors wish to distribute sweets on their birthdays or anniversaries, Heena prepares sweets such as Gujarati Gur Papdi, Churma Laddoo and Methi Laddoo. Since the sweets are sugar-free, diabetic people can also enjoy them.

Recently, they started distributing immunity booster balls, saunth ki goli made from dry ginger, jaggery, turmeric and shuddh ghee, with the meals on the suggestion of Harsh's mentor Haseet Bathiya. "Serving these is the least we can do to help the underprivileged to fight the risk of coronavirus," Harsh said.

When needy people ask for extra food, Harsh and Heena are able to empathise with them as they themselves have had a difficult past after Harsh's father passed away in a car accident in 1998. He was just five then.

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The back story

Instead of going back to her hometown Jamnagar after her husband's demise, Heena decided to stay in Mumbai so that she could provide her son with good quality education.

"We have been through a phase in our lives when Mummy fed me two times ka khaana (meal) but she herself survived on just one meal a day or just chai and biscuits on some days," Harsh recalled.

In 1999, Heena started making home-cooked food tiffins to earn a living. Her friends helped her buy the ingredients to cook the first meal, the earnings of which she spent on buying ingredients for further meals.

WhatsApp

When the business grew, Harshad Shah, a regular customer, suggested that they take it to the commercial marketplace. On April 1, 2003, Harsh Thali and Parathas was born. Harsh lent his mother a helping hand by delivering tiffins from the tender age of six. Every time a parent asks for extra food, Harsh feels the pain in their voice. In a recent donation drive, another needy parent asked, "Thoda zyaada sabzi de dijiye, ghar pe bachhon ko bhi khilana hai (Please give extra sabzi, I have to feed children at home too)."

A greater cause

When #FeedTheNeedy campaign was started, relatives, friends and neighbours asked Heena to not risk her son's life by sending her out, however, they were determined to help the needy.

Now, neighbours Raj Mallah and Mohan Kale also accompany Harsh for the distribution. They also help in shooting pictures and videos.

Despite the risk to his physical health, Harsh was keen to help others for a personal reason. It has helped him cope with emotional turmoil. "I was healing while feeding others," Harsh said.

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The most challenging thing in the last five months was when the monsoon started. "We thought we could skip for a couple of days, but then, my mentor Hiten Shah asked, 'Baarish hai toh zaruratmand logon ko bhookh nahi lagegi kya? Harsh, tu khana lekar aa, apan baatenge (Won't needy people be hungry during rains? Bring the food, we'll distribute)' We haven't taken any breaks in the last five months," he said.

Three migrant workers and three women who lost their jobs amid the pandemic start cooking with Heena at 10 am. After cooking and packaging are done, the distribution is done from 2 pm till 3:30 pm.

Harsh and Heena are also doing their bit to empower the supply chain by buying ingredients, other raw materials including packaging from local vendors. The part-time riders who help with the delivery of the food support their families' additional expenses.

The duo also helped their staff, who were scared about COVID-19 and wanted to return to their hometowns, by giving them advance salaries. They even packed food for their journeys. They are keeping in touch with them.

Harsh expresses his gratitude for three people who helped him and his mother in times of need. Yogesh Patel, the director of Swami Vivekananda School, granted him freeship after knowing their story. The second guardian angel is Harshad Shah who invested Rs 80,000 to start Harsh Thali and Parathas.

Years later, when Harsh and his mother went back to Shah and Patel to repay them, they didn't accept the money, Instead, both of them said, "Aap is paise se kisi aur Harsh aur Heena ki life bana dena (Use this money to help another Harsh and Heena)."

The third good samaritan is their shop's owner, Bishani Joshi, waived off half of their rent twice when they suffered from economic crises in 2011 and 2014. She waived off the rent again during the lockdown as they are using the kitchen for a noble cause.

"While serving methi laddoos to at the old age home, one elderly uncle was so overwhelmed that he suddenly raised his hand to bless me and said 'Aashirwaad (Blessings)'. That moment still gives me goosebumps. I felt that it was a blessing for the entire social media family who has helped us run this cause for so long and bring smiles to so many people," Harsh said.

When they began the initiative in May, Harsh used to put extension dates of the donation drives on social media as they felt that the funds would exhaust soon. But today, they plan to scale the initiative by tying up with other delivery kitchens in metro cities in the near future.

Sharing photos of the donation drives has not only kept the transparency about the funds being used properly, but it has also led to more donations coming in from across the world. Ultimately, it's the power of social media that has kept the cause going for this long.

"The one thing that #FeedTheNeedy initiative has taught me is "You don't have to go viral to make an impact. You are never too small to make a difference, just start with whatever limited resources you have. ," Harsh concluded.