Covid-19: Mother-son duo in Mumbai serve thousands of free meals during pandemic

Bengaluru: India has witnessed the terrible second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. Scenes of despair and despondency are myriad. Deaths, cries for oxygen, cylinders and hospital beds are so common. 

But even during such an adversity, there are a few souls who use it as an opportunity to help others, thereby reaffirming that humanity still exists. 

A mother Heena Mandavia and her son Harsh have won hearts as they have been distributing free meals to the needy and necessitous. What started as an experiment in the first wave has slowly but surely graduated into a massive philanthropic exercise in the second wave. 

In all, they have distributed 22000 meals, 55000 rotis and 6000 homemade sweets. 

The son says, “At first, I was worried for our safety, but then I thought, ‘We need to help others’,” as revealed the Humans of Bombay during the first wave. 

“Those days, we were not making much money but our hearts were full. And when the second wave hit us, I posted a callout again. In just 2 days, we received 1.5 lakhs in donations,” he adds. 

There is an interesting reason as to why the mother-son took up such an initiative. 

When he was young, Harsh lost his father. It was his mother who brought him up. As he grew, he got help from several quarters regarding his finances. In fact, an international school in which he studied had the heart to waive his fee off, thereby enabling his dream to complete his studies. 

After he completed his studies, he wanted to repay the investor who helped his mother start a business. But the kind soul that he is, he asked him to pay it forward. That is how the selfless work began. 

And to the question as to why he is risking his life, he says, “I think of the time when strangers have helped us get to where we are today. And even if one of them had thought, ‘Isme mera kya fayda?’, Maa and I wouldn’t be standing here today.”

 

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