Mother and Son Distribute 22,000 Free Meals to the Needy During the COVID-19 pandemic in India Paying Forward a Kindness once Received
A mother and son, owners of a restaurant in Mumbai serve meals for people in need during the pandemic in India. They started during the first lockdown and now even in the second wave, the duo, along with a few other volunteers, have raised enough money to feed around 100-150 people every day. Together they have distributed over 22,000 meals, 55,000 rotis*, and 6 000 homemade sweets. However, the son said it’s just a way to pay it forward for all the help and kindness they had received in their early days. He recalled how his mother wanted to get him admitted to an international school for a better future but she struggled. However, thanks to a kind stranger — the director of the school — his fees were completely waived off. A few years later, one kind stranger invested some money to help them rent a space and start her commercial kitchen, that’s how ‘Harsh Thali and Parathas’ came into existence in 2003. After the son completed his studies and started to help his mother to run the business, he wanted to repay the money to the investor and the director. However, both refused and asked him to pay it forward — and that’s exactly what they have been doing throughout the pandemic. A powerful and beautiful example of a chain reaction of generosity.
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