Annad Bhavanti Bhutani, says Lord Krishna in Bhagawad Gita. This literally means that all creation is sustained due to food. Helping to assuage a person’s hunger will win you good karmas in this world and the in the next.
Hence there is nothing surprising in Sneha Mohandoss, a Chennai-based social worker, feeding the poor a mission in her life. She had heard the adage ‘Annadanam Mahadanam’ mentioned in Indian scriptures from her mother Amutha Mohandoss, who used to cook one or two extra meals daily to be given to the poor and needy.
“That’s all we could do with the limited resources available at our disposal. But over the years, I took it up as a challenge to alleviate poverty and hunger among the poor whom I come across in my daily life. I too started cooking extra meals and many friends and colleagues joined me in my endeavour . We opened Food Bank, a collective to offer free and nutritious food to the poor and needy,” Sneha told The Pioneer on Sunday.
What made her the cynosure on Sunday was that Sneha has been featured in the social media handle of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi who had dedicated the same to women on International Womens Day. Sneha is one of the women who has inspired the country’s top political boss.
The Prime Minister’s Office had informed Sneha that she would be featured in the twitter handle of the Prime Minister. While her colleagues and associates are in cloud nine, Sneha remained unperturbed and went on with her daily routine of feeding the poor. “It is yet another Sunday for us. We are all busy visiting the hunger spots earmarked by us for feeding the poor,” said Vipin, an IT specialist and associate of Sneha. The old and infirm, physically handicapped persons, mentally challenged ones and those who could not move around due to ailments are all taken care of the Food Bank which has account holders ( donors as well as volunteers).
Hunger and poverty are universal problems. While international agencies break their head in conference rooms and seminar halls with five course lunch and cocktail dinners to find out an ever lasting solution to at least bring down the world hunger index, here is an ordinary woman going around Chennai feeding the needy. “Yes, together we can do it provided you think about the ones who go to bed without a nutritious meal. The look of satisfaction on the face of the person whom you have fed is the “punya” which we need,” said Sneha.
There are many Snehas in and around Chennai working to resolve the issue of hunger. Vijayashree Ramesh, a lawyer-cum-activist cooks Tamil Nadu’s staple food Curd Rice every Tuesday and goes in search of persons who could not get food for the day. Who said the world has become a bad place to live? Snehas and Vijayasrees are God’s blessing to this country.
‘They remain happy all the time because the Indian saying is Annadathaa Sukhee Bhava”, said Unnikrishna Panickar, Sanskrit scholar. (The one who donates food always remains happy).