A WhatsApp group has galvanised Mumbaikars into donating lakhs of roti rolls to those caught in the crisis
Volunteers from Parel society, Dosti Flamingos, with the food packets that consist of theplas and biscuits
Reshma Jain, the brain behind Circle of Love and Care, can barely hide her surprise when we phone her for an interview. On May 16, the Kemps Corner resident launched a WhatsApp group, along with a few close friends from South Mumbai, to help the city's migrants by feeding them the ubiquitous Gujarati snack, thepla. Little did she know that the informal, hyperlocal initiative would grow into a massive, citizen-driven project powered by over 150 volunteers. The idea was simple: nobody should go hungry.
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Over the past two months, its members have covered the length and breadth of the city helping the needy with masala rotis, biscuits and water. "Funnily, nobody in the group really knows each other," says Jain. Membership has grown organically through word of mouth. "A lot of people have come and gone. You can't expect everybody to roll out rotis daily under lockdown, which is why we have outsourced a part of the job to women's collectives in Chira Bazaar, Borivli and other suburban pockets, so that they have a source of income." No amount of food is too little and no place too far. The volunteers are a diverse mix, ranging from scriptwriters and educators to restaurateurs and pilots. Vrushank Joshi, who works as a finance manager with a newspaper, joined the group two weeks ago and has been pitching in with collection and distribution in Borivli.
A migrant worker's child with thepla
"I first collect the parcels from the society and then head out to the assigned areas. Although we're all mostly strangers, the coordination is astoundingly organised. We do receive calls from people wanting to help out with money. But right now, food is the priority," he says. In a day, the Borivli group receives nothing less than 10,000 theplas. According to Anand Bhatia, who is part of the distribution team, the reason for choosing theplas is because it is a wholesome snack and has a good shelf-life. Bhatia is a hotelier and runs a resort in Murud, Alibaug, which sadly has been ravaged by the cyclone. Given that hospitality set-ups are still locked up, Bhatia says he has time on hand to drive down and distribute the packages. "We did not even let the cyclone come in the way," he says. Each packet consists of four theplas packed in a silver foil with pickle on the side. Different teams are responsible for collecting data, compiling it, picking up the parcels and distributing them.
The Malabar Hill home of Vinodini Lulla, trustee, Children's Movement for Civic Awareness (CMCA), doubles up as a collection centre. Lulla remembers how felt utterly helpless she had felt when the news of migrant workers going hungry began unfolding. "This is a great way to be at home and yet contribute in our small way," says Lulla. She says there have been significant contributions from housing societies, including residents from Chaintanya Tower in Prabhadevi, Parel's Dosti Flamingos and Imperial Towers, Tardeo.
Each roll consists of four rotis
Jain says the inspiration for the initiative came from the activities of the Shrimad Rajchandra Mission, of which she is a member. "They have been helping with logistics and without them, we wouldn't have reached this scale."
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