Heaven's kitchen
ISKCON group supplies midday meals to street children as incentive to attend school
ISKCON group supplies midday meals to street children as incentive to attend school
SOUL FOOD: School children get their midday mealKrishna, the blue bodied lord may have been a tease, but he surely got you to play his game.
All over the world, the Hare Rama Hare Krishna restaurants have been the hangout for every aspiring hippie with a vague Woodstock hangover. But it also has been a symbol of salvation - both spiritual and epicurean nirvana.
The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) not only serves intellectual ammunition but also hands out dangling carrots. Take for example its food relief programme. Created by His Holiness Gopal Krishna Goswami in 2003, it is a noble attempt to put underprivileged children where they belong - in schools.
"We are using food as an incentive to education," says co-director of the programme Dhananjaya Krishna Das. In a sense, this is a valiant crack at bringing back much needed order in the fickle lives of the children of a lesser god. Using nutritious food as bait, the programme works at bringing a heightened sense of consciousness.
Catering to over 25,000 children across government schools in Delhi, the programme whips out over 40,000 meals a day. Das says the impetus to increase their reach to over 1.5 lakh children per day comes from the encouraging support from schools.
"Principals of these schools have acknowledged the dramatic improvement in attendance and co-curricular activities of these children." Secular in its approach, ISKCON cuts across religious barriers and even supplies food to Muslim schools. The programme is also operational in Bangalore, Mumbai and Jaipur.
After gaining an optimistic nod from the United Nations (World Food Programme) ISKCON will be provided with technical assistance to revamp its production line. "This will help us increase our reach and gain a foothold in schools," explains Das. Hidden away from the prying consumerist eyes, a deceptive muddy road at Ali village in Delhi leads to the ISKCON centre.
The state-of-the-art kitchen here can beat a five-star hotel hands down. Among other equipments, a battery of rice boilers cooks tonnes of rice while automatic machines churn out thousands of poories every day. An annual cost of Rs.800 per child per year leaves ISKCON at the lower end of the receiving table. But they are not complaining. "All we want to do is look after the children of tomorrow," says Das.
Remember when Krishna's poor childhood playmate Sudama visited him with a handful of puffed rice. Krishna was so touched with the gesture that he blessed him with a enough riches to last many lifetimes. Sudama may have left the building. But Krishna is still around the corner.
All over the world, the Hare Rama Hare Krishna restaurants have been the hangout for every aspiring hippie with a vague Woodstock hangover. But it also has been a symbol of salvation - both spiritual and epicurean nirvana.
The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) not only serves intellectual ammunition but also hands out dangling carrots. Take for example its food relief programme. Created by His Holiness Gopal Krishna Goswami in 2003, it is a noble attempt to put underprivileged children where they belong - in schools.
"We are using food as an incentive to education," says co-director of the programme Dhananjaya Krishna Das. In a sense, this is a valiant crack at bringing back much needed order in the fickle lives of the children of a lesser god. Using nutritious food as bait, the programme works at bringing a heightened sense of consciousness.
Catering to over 25,000 children across government schools in Delhi, the programme whips out over 40,000 meals a day. Das says the impetus to increase their reach to over 1.5 lakh children per day comes from the encouraging support from schools.
"Principals of these schools have acknowledged the dramatic improvement in attendance and co-curricular activities of these children." Secular in its approach, ISKCON cuts across religious barriers and even supplies food to Muslim schools. The programme is also operational in Bangalore, Mumbai and Jaipur.
After gaining an optimistic nod from the United Nations (World Food Programme) ISKCON will be provided with technical assistance to revamp its production line. "This will help us increase our reach and gain a foothold in schools," explains Das. Hidden away from the prying consumerist eyes, a deceptive muddy road at Ali village in Delhi leads to the ISKCON centre.
The state-of-the-art kitchen here can beat a five-star hotel hands down. Among other equipments, a battery of rice boilers cooks tonnes of rice while automatic machines churn out thousands of poories every day. An annual cost of Rs.800 per child per year leaves ISKCON at the lower end of the receiving table. But they are not complaining. "All we want to do is look after the children of tomorrow," says Das.
Remember when Krishna's poor childhood playmate Sudama visited him with a handful of puffed rice. Krishna was so touched with the gesture that he blessed him with a enough riches to last many lifetimes. Sudama may have left the building. But Krishna is still around the corner.
No comments:
Post a Comment