City entrepreneur drives mission to feed 75k poor annually in Patna
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Patna: Feeding 6,000 poor every month and over 75,000 in a year is no ordinary feat. Ashok Sharma, an automobile accessories entrepreneur in the heart of Patna, has turned it into his life's mission.
What began as a simple act of kindness has now evolved into a sustained, community-driven campaign to feed the forgotten and destitute.
"When a food packet lands in the hands of the poor, they smile and that is everything to me," he said.
Since Sept 2018, Sharma has been feeding the poor, the mentally ill and patients admitted to the Patna Medical College Hospital (PMCH).
Behind this noble act lies a deeply moving story.
"It was the night of Sept 2018. I had just returned home from my shop on Exhibition Road when there was a knock at the door. I opened it to find an old, frail man collapsed outside. He was weak and pointed to his mouth, silently asking for food," he said.
Moved by his miserable condition, Sharma offered the man his dinner. "My wife Kiran and I helped him to a nearby open space. By morning, the man had vanished. But the image of his hunger-stricken face stayed with me.
It changed something deep inside," he said.
That night marked the beginning of their journey to feed the forgotten and destitute.
Kiran would prepare and pack meals. Then, after wrapping up work, Sharma and his wife would step out on a two-wheeler in search of the city's most vulnerable – the mentally ill, homeless, elderly and weak. From Patna Junction to the airport and beyond, they looked for those who could not even ask for help.
"Those who can speak can ask for food. But what about those who can't? They lie in silence, forgotten by society," Sharma said.
For nearly one-and-a-half years, the couple carried out this self-funded mission till their health and household budget began to feel the strain.
But kindness, like fire, spreads.
"When I shared our mission of feeding the hungry on social media, friends and acquaintances began reaching out, offering to contribute.
At that time I named our initiative 'Sai Ki Thali', inspired by Shirdi Sai Baba, a revered spiritual saint who lived in Shirdi," he said.
With support pouring in, Sharma rented a small space in a friend Pankaj Agarwal's garage and hired cooks to set up a kitchen.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, when fear and lockdowns gripped the city, 'Sai Ki Thali' continued serving two meals a day to the homeless, he said.
Today, Sharma's mission has become a community movement. People now celebrate birthdays and anniversaries by sponsoring meals for the poor and for patients at PMCH.
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