CHENNAI: Raj Krishnan Iyer considers himself a good cook. And since day one of the lockdown, the senior citizen, with the help of his man Friday Naresh, has been using his culinary skills to whip up wholesome meals for the needy.
"I have a live-in help, Naresh, as I had a leg surgery. When the lockdown was announced, I wanted to do something to help and he was also enthusiastic about it," says Raj, a resident of Besant Nagar. He headed to Parry’s Corner to buy 25kg of rice and 500 cartons to pack the food in. Since then the duo makes variety rice – lemon, pudina, sambar and curd rice – packs it in cartons and distributes it in the area.
"The first day, we packed only 13 boxes but found that we ran out of it very quickly," says Raj, who now distributes about 25 packets of food every day. Every day, they cook from 11:30am to 12:30pm and then head to the streets nearby.
"We give it to the homeless people and those with disability. We have regulars, like a couple with a hand-operated tricycle, a couple who do ironing but hardly make any money these days, a few auto drivers who are out of work and four watchmen," says Raj.
He also gives a couple of packets to three policemen who are on duty every single day. "They are out in the sun all day, and they also feed the stray dogs in the area, so I give them food every day," he says.
An animal lover, he also feeds the stray animals on his street. "I feed strays dogs and cats. A mother cat and three kittens have taken refuge in my home and I call them my lockdown babies," says Raj.
Raj, who studied in IIT-Kharagpur, feels he has got his service-mindedness from his stint with the NSS. "It instilled in me a desire for social service," he says, adding that he plans to continue helping the needy even after the lockdown. "I haven’t missed a day yet, but the problem of hunger is too big for me to solve. I do what I can but I hope everybody will pitch in, by at least helping out their domestic help, watchmen, and vegetable suppliers."
"I have a live-in help, Naresh, as I had a leg surgery. When the lockdown was announced, I wanted to do something to help and he was also enthusiastic about it," says Raj, a resident of Besant Nagar. He headed to Parry’s Corner to buy 25kg of rice and 500 cartons to pack the food in. Since then the duo makes variety rice – lemon, pudina, sambar and curd rice – packs it in cartons and distributes it in the area.
"The first day, we packed only 13 boxes but found that we ran out of it very quickly," says Raj, who now distributes about 25 packets of food every day. Every day, they cook from 11:30am to 12:30pm and then head to the streets nearby.
"We give it to the homeless people and those with disability. We have regulars, like a couple with a hand-operated tricycle, a couple who do ironing but hardly make any money these days, a few auto drivers who are out of work and four watchmen," says Raj.
He also gives a couple of packets to three policemen who are on duty every single day. "They are out in the sun all day, and they also feed the stray dogs in the area, so I give them food every day," he says.
An animal lover, he also feeds the stray animals on his street. "I feed strays dogs and cats. A mother cat and three kittens have taken refuge in my home and I call them my lockdown babies," says Raj.
Raj, who studied in IIT-Kharagpur, feels he has got his service-mindedness from his stint with the NSS. "It instilled in me a desire for social service," he says, adding that he plans to continue helping the needy even after the lockdown. "I haven’t missed a day yet, but the problem of hunger is too big for me to solve. I do what I can but I hope everybody will pitch in, by at least helping out their domestic help, watchmen, and vegetable suppliers."
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