Roti, charity and Eid

Eid ho, Holi ho ya Diwali… we work on all festivals,” begins 41-year-old Syed Gulab. “These folks outside hospitals should’ve been celebrating Eid with their families too but here they sit... waiting for their loved ones,” he adds. Having cared for the relatives of the hospitalised for almost four years now, Gulab is used to feeding nearly 300 people, two meals a day in Bengaluru. And this Eid, he is going to prepare meals for around 250 people. “We will probably make egg curry, vegetable pulav, and kheer sevaiyan. For kids, we take bananas and biscuits,” he says. While Gulab’s own Eid will not be an extravagant affair owing to the lockdown, the father of three says, “Namaz will be read at home s we can’t gather at mosques. My kids will want to wear something new, so I’ll see what I can do… sirf bachon ke liye.”

Gulab began the Roti harity Trust in 2016 when, fter visiting his friend’s daughter in the hospital, he saw people who couldn t afford meals as they were paying for the treatment of their loved ones. A former spray painter working in the Gulf, he began cooking food for nearly 200 men himself and would distribute it every Sunday. Within six months, his feat became a daily affair as he began to serve breakfast and lunch, and thereafter he registered his NGO.

When the pandemic hit, Gulab says the NGO’S funds dried up. “Migrants used to call me saying they don’t have food. Even the association for labourers asked me to help. So we began making ration kits of dal, rice and flour for them.

So far, we have distributed 8,000 ration kits. At the hospitals, we asked people to maintain social distancing, but as soon as we brought out the food, crowds would gather. So now, we distribute parcels,” he says, adding that he has raised over ₹67 lakhs through a fundraiser with Milaap, a crowdfunding platform.

But is he scared of the coronavirus? “I’m always scared but if we don’t do anything then how will it work? Sirf upar wale ki rehm hai aur logo ki dua hai,” he concludes.

PHOTO: VIRAL BHAYANI Aamir Ali

(Above) Syed Gulab and (below) Syed distributing food among people