The students belong to the Support for Autistic Individuals (SAI), a charitable trust set up in 2004 by Kamini Lakhani and her husband, Anil
It's pouring outside, but it's toasty in the basement kitchen where Vishal Srinivas, 21, is busy preparing rajma and bhindi masala with capsicum and onions. The aroma of masalas engulfs us, as Srinivas gets directions from his mother, Viji. He sautés onions, chops coriander and stirs rajma, accordingly. Rajma is fine, he tells us, but his personal go-to dish, is chole.
Srinivas is one of the 11 autistic students, who are part of a new lunch service from Bandra East called The SAI Canteen. The students belong to the Support for Autistic Individuals (SAI), a charitable trust set up in 2004 by Kamini Lakhani and her husband, Anil. The canteen is a couple of weeks old, but has the efficiency of an assembly line and the excitement levels of children on a picnic.
Rishi Pattanaik, 22, is learning how to knead dough and make round chapatis and Vishal Srinivas, 21, seen preparing rajma in the kitchen
Lakhani, SAI's director, says that the lunch service is run by autistic students, all of whom are around 20 years of age. The young autistic cooks would need a fair amount of support initially. "It will take them anywhere between one and eight months for them to understand all the steps. Till then, they will need assistance and supervision," says Lakhani.
The manner in which Srinivas is mentored by Viji, who is also the in-charge for the canteen, is a method used for other students, as well. In one room, Rishi Pattanaik, 22, is learning the intricacies of making chapatis. He initially fumbles with the proportion of water and flour, but soon gets there. We are told he is a wiz with computers and can breach iPad passcodes, but like with many of us, the perfect chapati remains a mystery to him. In the end, the dough turns out soft as it ought to, with Pattanaik getting the praise he deserves.
Lakhani says that the idea to launch such an initiative came after a student completed a cooking course from The Veruschka Foundation, also a non-profit working with the differently-abled. "We were already running a patisserie here, and then we thought we should expand into a lunch service as well," says Lakhani. We are seated in her office, which is lined with paintings by her son, Mohit, 28. His abstract paintings keep the students company through the different rooms.
Kamini Lakhani
Lakhani is as familiar with autism, as the families that she counsels. "Mohit was diagnosed with autism when he was three, and I found it hard to accept it initially. ventually, I made it my life's mission to speak up for him and others like him. The lunch service is a way to find dignified employment for them," she says. Back in the kitchen, the final minutes of prep are on before these dabbas will be dispatched to a company in BKC. Viji explains that they have planned a 15-day menu, so customers will have the dishes repeating only once a fortnight. They also deliver up to Andheri. Another student, Ashani Shah, 22, is at the stove now, and in between attending to the chapatis, chirps, "I love you" over and over again. "She feels loved here and so keeps returning that love," Lakhani says hiding a smile.
Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates