Single mom, Sarita Kashyap’s food stall “Apna Pann Rajma Chawal” shows how she is serving not only delicious Rajma Chawal but also humanity.
Though our society may not give single mothers due respect, there are many courageous single moms, who are not leaving any opportunity to make our society kinder and better. And one such single mom is Sarita Kashyap.
After working for 17 years in the automobile industry, this successful saleswoman gave up on her career to do something for the needy. It was this desire of giving back to society, that made her leave a cushy job at the peak of her career in January 2019.
With the determination to go beyond her privilege, Sarita Kashyap came up with her makeshift food stall – Apna Pann Rajma Chawal. Her food stall is a popular joint in Peera Garhi, West Delhi. Here she can be spotted feeding many hungry street children, ragpickers, and homeless people every day.
From raising her daughter on her own to starting her own venture, it is quite inspiring how this self-made woman never gave up. While this single mother earns her livelihood by selling delicious Rajma-Chawal-Raita to hungry customers, her majority of income goes towards feeding the hungry.
Initially, when Sarita left her job, she explored the idea of cooking in bulk and feeding the kin of patients across hospitals in West Delhi. But, her responsibilities did not allow her to pursue that particular idea.
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Hence, Sarita Kashyap finally arrived at the idea of running a food joint. Sharing the details how she arrived at the idea of starting an honest business, Sarita shared with TBI:
“While toying with the idea, I had also tried my luck in the domain of network marketing. But I discovered that the job required resorting to dishonest means, which was against my ethics. I even ended up losing a lot of my savings, but I knew it was high time I started an honest business,”
The hero for many hungry street kids
The time, when many of us are in a sound sleep, Sarita Kashyap starts her day at 4 a.m. After finishing her household chores, she prepares Rajma Chawal and Raita for around 100 people.
And, then around 11:30 am, the hunger hero rides her scooter from her home to Peera Garhi Bus Depot. Her vehicle has a portable table and carriers, where she carefully places large drums of steaming Rajma-Chawal.
She runs this stall for around 3-4 hours till she hands over the last box of Rajma-Chawal to a hungry customer or a homeless, hungry child, who has nowhere to go. While managing the operations single-handedly, Sarita has shown the world how anyone can beat their circumstances to fulfill their dreams.
Within four months, Apna Pann’s food has earned a name as hungry customers line up at the location even before Sarita arrives. With half-plate priced at Rs 40 and full at Rs. 60, Sarita’s Rajma Chawal is a delicacy accompanied with homemade Raita and onion salad. Before lockdown, as per sources, her daily income ranged around Rs 3,000-Rs 4,000, a majority of which, she spends on providing free food to street kids.
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As the hungry customers dine on one side, kids from the local Juggi-Jhopris line up for their free lunch at “Aunty’s stall”. While sharing the details of her first day, Sarita mentioned:
“On the first day, I found a few children roaming around and asked them if they were hungry. They said they were but also stated they had no money to buy food. They have been eating with me ever since, along with more and more of their friends,”
But its not only slum kids, Sarita also invites ragpickers, beggars and the homeless to have food at her stall.
As per HT, Sarita plans to empower women by providing them with an opportunity to set up their own food stalls. She is also working on an idea to supply her homemade food to unemployed women who would then set up their stalls which will function on the same lines as hers. It will give a sense of fulfillment to her to see more women feeding the hungry while being able to earn.
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At IFORHER, we are in awe of Sarita and her determination to earn livelihood in the most humane way possible. While Sarita is the real face of women empowerment, we hope many more will seek inspiration from her to build a life of their dreams!