N Kalyanasundaram from West Mambalam, Chennai, is popularly known as Sundal Mama. He has been selling freshly made south Indian snacks like bajji, bonda, vada and sundal, and there have been scores of takers for his fresh-from-stove snacks.
However, when the pandemic started showing its full rage, he decided he needed to do something for the people who struggle for a square meal. He and his wife, K Padmavathy, started offering food for the needy.
“Due to the pandemic, I was not operating my snacks’ business. But the plight of those suffering without food moved me. On the first day, we distributed lunch and tiffin to 120 people. But soon the numbers started swelling and over some time the daily numbers went up to 750 persons per day,” says Kalyanasundaram.
He even put up a poster saying that anyone who is hungry can come and take a meal to eat.
Kalyanasundaram says that for the first two days, the couple themselves prepared all the food. But, soon, he realized that the load was beyond what they could manage.
“We appointed four people to help us in cutting the vegetables and cleaning. While the lunch is mixed rice items like tamarind rice, sambar rice, etc., the evening tiffin comprises pongal, upma and similar dishes with chutney or pickle.” Along with food, the couple also gives half-a-liter water bottles to the beneficiaries.
While the thought of doing something for the less privileged occurred to Kalyanasundaram during the first wave of COVID-19, he says he could realize it only now.
“During last year, because of COVID-19, I had to keep my business shut for about six months. The thought of those going foodless was disturbing me. I started saving up a small amount from my business and started distributing food from May 16,” he says.
His initiative grabbed attention when someone posted it on Twitter.
“Many people came forward to support me with money and good wishes. Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Palanivel Thiagarajan, too, visited him and offered his support for us,” says Kalyanasundaram. But he adds, “Once the lockdown shifts, I plan to stop the activity. I don’t believe in making people lazy by offering food when they can work and earn a living.”
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Since people keep sending money and extending their support, Kalyanasundaram is now mulling over an idea to create a corpus or trust.
“I am yet to look at the expenses. But we might have spent around 4 lakh rupees on this. Tamil Nadu often gets affected by cyclones, floods, and other such challenges. I plan to use the remaining money for that so that no one goes hungry in the state,” he said.
Kalyanasundaram has been in the business of selling mouth-watering snacks for over 42 years and from film personalities to politicians, his clientele is quite varied.
He came to Chennai with his family as a teenager. While they did door-to-door selling of homemade snacks, he later shifted his business to a pushcart, and soon people started flocking to his place for its quality and taste. They titled him Sundal Mama as a compliment for his tasty sundal vadai, where crispy masala vada and mushy sundal, blended into a chaat.