Feeding the hungry, spreading hope

Jamshedpur: For the last seven years, Paras Nath Mishra spends his Tuesdays with the underprivileged, helping them have a decent meal. A professor of Kolhan University who is hugely inspired by Gandhian principals, Mishra said the thought dawned on him while he was waiting for a train at Tatanagar station some years back."The plight of the poor kids begging for food motivated me to take up this voluntary work." Currently, every Tuesday, he and his team of volunteers provide meals to roughly 250 individuals near Tatanagar station. The menu consists of rice, dal sabji or puri with sabji.Since initiating this noble cause on October 2, on Gandhi Jayanti, seven years ago, he has provided meals to approximately 4.5 lakh people across various locations including Jamshedpur, a Mumbai cancer hospital, Ayodhya's Ram temple, and Nepal. "Our food is named Anand Bhoj and we also eat along with the underprivileged while distributing them food to make them feel included," he said.During Covid-19, they distributed food packets as gatherings were prohibited by the authorities."I want to increase the frequency of food distribution, depending on the availability of funds. For the last seven years, the Anand Bhoj has been my self-funded project. Sometimes in the past, a few good samaritans came up and helped me in my efforts," Mishra added.