Uday Modi, who lives in Mumbai, is making a conscious effort to provide for senior citizens who have been abandoned by their families.
An Ayurvedic doctor by profession, Dr Modi feeds 500 people everyday. Hailing from Amreli village near Rajkot, Gujarat, Dr Modi shifted to Mumbai over twenty years ago to practice alternative medicine. It was a chance meeting with a patient at his clinic that made him decide to feed the elderly. “Once, an old man came to me for some medicines for his wife, who had suffered a paralytic stroke, and I was shocked to learn that the elderly couple had been dumped by their kids and there was nobody to prepare food for them. Since then, I resolved to provide some relief to such lonely elders,” he said.
He has named his service the ‘Shravan Tiffin Service’ after the Hindu mythological character known for being a dutiful son. When he began the service 11 years ago, his wife would prepare the food. Initially, she would prepare 11 tiffins to distribute every day, and now, thanks to regular crowdfunding, he distributes upto 500 tiffins a day.
He makes sure that the food for those with diabetes is made in a separate kitchen. Every tiffin contains six chappatis, a curry, dal and rice. On Sundays, they add a homemade dessert and farsan as well.
Uday’s dream, however, is to ultimately build a home for old people where their needs would be taken care of.
