Since the day Covid-19 struck Tamil Nadu for the first time in early in 2020 till this news report is written, there has been no death in the State due to poverty. The government led by Edappadi Palaniswamy which was in office from 2017 to May 2021 deserves mention for distributing free ration and groceries to people who lost their livelihoods. But many unsung heroes and heroines across the State had played a major role in feeding thousands of poor people sans any publicity.
The soldiers of Madras Regimental Centre, Wellington in The Nilgiris undertook a disciplined and meticulous food distribution programme feeding the under-privileged and unreached people in the hilly terrains.
“It was our responsibility to make sure that our fellow brethren are not affected in times of natural disasters or pandemic. They are our people and we are duty bound to protect them,” said a spokesman of the regiment.
In neighboring Thiruppur, the knitwear capital of India, it was a lady who took care of the hundreds of laborers who lost their daily income due to lock down. Though the district had an alarming number of Covid-19 cases, Indira Sundaram, an otherwise reclusive home maker, took it as a challenge and undertook distribution of food among the needy.
For the Thiruppur residents, she was their “Anna Lakshmi” who called on them with food cooked in her own kitchen.
Indira’s day starts early morning because she has to hand over the packets personally to the beneficiaries. For more than a year, she undertook the mission without any break despite her children cautioning her about the possibility of getting infected with Covid-19. “God has blessed me with enough so that I could share it with the poor and needy. The Covid-19 pandemic was a call from the God and I responded in a manner with my limited resources,” said Indira who had slowed down a bit since the pandemic has subsided and the knitwear units resumed production.
“It was a thrilling experience to watch a lady undertaking an adventurous mission. Indira managed the entire food distribution on her own and did not seek any help from others,” said Muthu Saravana Vel, an entrepreneur in Thiruppur. He said that Indira’s name is synonymous with helping the poor and needy. “She may be getting solace from tragedies that struck her personally,” added Vel.
The story of Krishna Iyer of Tiruchirappalli is also interesting. A vedic scholar, trained to perform pooja in temples, Iyer worships poor and needy in the street instead of the deities in temples.
He prepares food in his house and carry it all over Tiruchi in search of the hungry and deprived. “I accept one handful of rice from those who offer to help me. That’s why they named me pidi arisi (Tamil for a handful) Iyer,” said Iyer with an innocent laugh.