April 22, 2020 TnH Global

NOT ALL HEROES WEAR CAPES!

By Nidhi Beriwala

Ever wondered how gold is made? The process is counter-intuitive. In the toughest heat,it gets harder while other metals just melt. Similarly, inspiration can come from anywhere -the most unexpected places, from the most unexpected people, under completely unpredictable circumstances, even when there is complete chaos and pressure all around.

How often does one hear of instances that go beyond the general idea of humanity? How often does one feel inspired to do more for others? Is it necessary for one to be privileged to help others out?

Halfway through the lockdown, the world has been put under a trial in its own way. Outside, the fear of this complex disease looms large while indoors, there are several questions bothering our mental well being. Tomorrow seems uncertain and the future indicates the necessity of a serious transformation in living our lives, re-thinking of our ways and limiting our materialistic desires.

However, there’s a silver lining to almost every cloud. While the circumstances have wreaked havoc in the lives of many, humanity has gained impetus. People from all walks of life are coming forward and trying to help out the millions of starved, homeless and socially isolated people of our nation.

Well, here is an instance of how one individual is determined to make a difference in the most inexplicable way possible.

A middle aged man, Pankaj is a driver in Delhi. He himself is a man of limited means, and supports a family of six. However, this did not stop him from coming to the aid of the people who were in dire need of food during the lockdown. Pankaj decided to serve meals to these people. He decided to pool in money with the help of three friends-Ankit, Ravi and Praveen and took the initiative of feeding around 50 people, many of whom are homeless and daily wagers in Delhi’s DND and Ghazipur Mandi Area.

“Didi, you feed thousands of people daily so even I wanted to do something!….”

After hearing these words from her driver- Pankaj, the founder of Delhi based NGO ‘Wishes and Blessings’, Dr. Geetanjali was stumped out of her wits. Here was someone earning a basic salary, and at this point, he himself could be facing several shortages.“Didi, you motivated me.” said Dr. Geetanjali to her team at Wishes and Blessings, reliving the impact of those words from Pankaj with immense pride in her voice.

Wishes and Blessings, a social enterprise based in Delhi came across his story by chance. To say that the organization was deeply touched hearing this story would be an understatement. Any NGO is compelled to perform their level best amidst such trying and urgent times wherein thousands have literally nowhere to go but to see this grit and courage in others is extremely satisfying and motivating. Wishes and Blessings has provided these men with groceries and other necessities including masks. Now, Pankaj is working under the support and guidance of the organization and has formed his own “Kindness Brigade”. With the help of Wishes and Blessings, he has expanded his operations and is serving cooked food to over 300 people daily.

Apart from helping heroes on the ground like Pankaj, Wishes and Blessings is providing nutritional support to over 15,000 individuals and 3,000 families across 6 states- Assam, Delhi, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

The story of Pankaj is an exemplary example as to how much difference a single individual can make even with basic resources, given the right will, generosity and a determination to uplift others.

The Author is Youth Coordinator of

Wishes and Blessings.