The best thing I like about my job is the travel bit and tasting food. It has a flip side too, food across the country is so yummy that if you do not follow a great regime of exercise then you are bound to carry on the excess calories and that might be harmful at times.
The thing that I do not always forget to pack is a pair of joggers, tracksuit which I require for my walks jogs as I get time.
I begin this journey of sharing some extraordinary people who are themselves not well to do but have thought of people around them and thought of serving them in whatever way they can. I was in my journey of Desh da Swaad a TV show that I do on ZEE News and ZEE Business and this Travelogue program has been very dear to my heart as it takes me through India and helps me meet people, understand temperaments of people, cultures, homes of people what they eat. At times I also get to meet people who have been little snobbish and harsh but that is part and parcel of life.
I remember I was in Indore the land of snacks and food as we call the land of Farsan. I happened to shoot in a restaurant called Alav, nothing extraordinary about the restaurant though, yes the Malai Seekh kebab was really good however they serve good Popular Punjabi food but the most impressive thing was about the man whom I met outside the restaurant. He claimed himself to be the Darwan of the restaurant and the caretaker of the restaurant. His name was Anthony would welcome everyone and talk to every customer. I also think that everyone visiting the restaurant knew of Anthony. This man inspired me to write this article today and share with all of you.
He stands outside the restaurant and is the first one to start a Food Bank ATM outside the restaurant. Poor Anthony himself does not have proper meal for three times a day however thought about a plan to install a FOODBANK ATM as it is named and is a small Kiosk where people actually leave the leftover food parcels of their meal in the restaurant and the same is kept in very good hygienic conditions and is kept inside a refrigerator. All the left over’s and carry out are properly stored in a refrigerator and shared with the needy. Anthony informed me that he manages to share the left over’s with at least 50 people every day. With the help of the owner of ALAV restaurant the FOOD BANK ATM was the first of its kind initiative and is managed professionally and together, they encourage more restaurants around Indore to install a FOODBANK ATM and help more people so that everyone can get good food. FOOD BANK ATM prefers Vegetarian food for storage only, one reason could also be that the restaurant around was vegetarian.
The story remains fresh in mind and every time I think of Anthony I get inspired and see a person who is all out to serve people in spite of his own circumstances not being too good. It is a common saying serving mankind is equivalent to serving GOD.
This unique FOODBANK ATM remains in mind and I ask myself every time am I doing enough to serve the society….
