Feeding the Hungry

He stands tall as a beacon of hope and determination in this bleak world where thousands of children die a day in our country. D Sivanandan, ex Police Commissioner of Bombay, Roti Bank   

Text & Photographs: Farzana Contractor

In our world of plenty, that even one person should die of hunger, is reason enough to hang our head in shame. And then you have millions who do. Die of hunger that is…. Tragically, this also includes little children, innocent babies, born, yes, but with no idea of the hardships that lie ahead. Try sleeping on an empty stomach and you will understand what I mean.

As for hanging our head in shame, I have to bring you distressing news… apathy is simply missing in the new world order. Most people seem to be so unaware of the poverty that exists right in front of them. World Hunger Index figures just remain meaningless statistics. Few have the time and inclination to think of emaciated beings, in parts of the African world such as Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Sudan, Somalia, Haiti, Congo, Chad, Liberia, where millions are on the brink of starvation and death. Or places, effected by war and strife, such as Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, where mass human displacements have taken place, leading to humanitarian crises, both physical and psychological, of such proportions, it challenges comprehension. Try thinking of your own home being bombed and you running away with nothing but the clothes on your back!

Until Russia invaded Ukraine, there were 811 million people in the world, going to bed hungry. The ongoing war only makes the conditions worse, as conflict restricts global food supplies, drives up prices and ultimately threatens the most vulnerable ones. Closer home, the situation isn’t any less grim. 20 crore people sleep on empty stomachs every night. 7,000 die every day due to hunger, that’s 25 lakhs every year. Of which 8.8 lakhs are children under the age of five! India has just gone down a few notches. Slipped from being 94 on the Global Hunger Index (GHI) in 2020 to 101 this year.

So where does all this lead up to? I have no answer. I only know what my ma taught me NOT to waste food. To help those in need of food. To thank God, as often as one can, for the food I eat, for the roof over my head and the fact that I have pretty clothes to wear. Values I have adhered to.

Thankfully, there are some who have zeroed in on this fact and are actually walking the talk, doing their bit to address the hunger issue. “’Roti, Kapda, aur Makaan,’ these are three very vital, very basic needs of human beings, right, right?” It’s a question I am being asked by an exuberant, shiny-eyed, ex-super cop. “Of course! Absolutely right.” I reply, remembering my wise mother. Mr Super Cop continues… “So, I decided, if I can’t make all three of these factors possible for people, I can at least try for one. Roti! That’s what I can and will do for the needy!”

That is how Roti Bank came into existence. A non-profit organisation initiated to offer hunger relief to the hapless thousands roaming the streets of Bombay, children and adults, alike.

Meet the person, behind this endeavour. Someone you have certainly heard of.  Perhaps even known. Or met briefly, but certainly seen around, even if on the TV screen, in his 35-year long, meaningful and squeaky-clean career as an IPS officer, par excellence; Mr D Sivanandan.

Respected and admired, former Police Commissioner of Bombay, Mr Sivanandan retired as DG Maharashtra on March 1, 2011. With as much dignity and integrity about him, and multiple high-profile postings, he is one of India’s most highly regarded officers. The question of hearing any murmurings against him, of any sort, never ever arose. Which is one important reason for the success of Roti Bank. Everyone trusts Mr Sivanandan. His credibility is incredulous.

Soon after retirement, without a break or even a day’s rest, Mr Sivanandan was incorporated as advisory member in the special task force, with NSC (National Security Council) working under Naresh Chandra, at revamping India’s internal and external security. From 2012 to 2015, he was on the board of the Reserve Bank of India and worked closely with former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan. This, in addition to being director on the boards of eight prestigious corporates, such as Kirloskar, Diageo, Eureka Forbes, IndiTrade, to mention a few. In addition, Mr Sivanandan is advisor to 15 NGOs, including PCCT (Public Concern for Good Governance Trust) founded by Julio Ribeiro and BG Deshmukh. Even with all this, Mr Sivanandan managed to give dozens of lectures at education centres as also Rotary and other social clubs. Not to forget that in 2012 itself he had founded his own investigation and assessement company, Securus First Pvt Ltd.

I have known Mr Sivanandan from the days that I worked at The Afternoon Despatch and Courier. He was among the very few senior officers that my husband, Behram (Contractor), had the highest regard for. And I was glad that he was here now, seated with me at Afternoon House having this animated discussion on his life’s mission; feeding the poor. His big target? To get to the one million meals, milestone.

 “How did you first come up with the idea of starting Roti Bank?” I enquire. “Look, right from my younger days I was actively working as a junior officer to the time I became Bombay’s Commissioner of Police, I have seen not just abject poverty but I have understood the main reason for crime. It’s hunger. That is what drives many towards unlawful activities. It’s also hunger that drives you to drugs. Hunger is the root cause for many evils. But hunger itself cannot be a crime. And so I decided to do something. I thought if we can take care of this basic necessity of offering the needy people a wholesome meal, we may just about succeed in giving them a chance to shape a better future for themselves. On December 28, 2017 we established Roti Bank.” So intense is Mr Sivanandan’s feeling, this entire dialogue was proffered in one breath. And likewise the entire interview just moved forward easily, seamlessly. I asked, he answered. It is apparent that he is working totally hands-on and is fully aware of every detail of the organisation he has founded.

Tirelessly he works from morning to evening everyday. He is on the field, rather pavements, not just supervising but personally doling out dal-chawal-sabzi, every afternoon, outside KEM Hospital at Parel, to the endless number of people who queue up. Piping, hot, fresh food cooked in the kitchen of Roti Bank, situated in Mahul, Chembur is served. I was present on one such afternoon and was moved to see the enormous task being undertaken with such love and care. “We serve about 1300 meals at lunch and 700 at dinner time over here, everyday. People come from all over our country with cancer patients to KEM, some don’t have the means or the time to go searching for food. We come to the rescue. It is now established that on this pavement, between so and so time, you will find food."

“Is it just meals cooked by your team or is there more?” I ask

“More, more… You see we started with gathering surplus food from big, lavish weddings and other functions and taking it to those who could do with that food. What happens usually is a lot of food goes to waste at such functions. We tell people, just make one phone call to us and we will come and collect the food, rest is our responsibility,” enlightens Mr Sivanandan.

The system works beautifully but it comes with its own hardships. The Roti Bank team has to ensure that the food is still fresh and certainly not spoilt. They have to take it to its destination as quickly as possible and distribute it. This is usually the closest pavement or slum dwelling. The sad point to keep in mind is, this happens pretty late, almost always after 12 midnight or even later. Yet there is always a taker. People eat whatever they get, whenever they get.

 Well, apart from wedding halls, excess food is also picked up from corporate canteens, railway canteens, the SBI canteens. But never hotels and restaurants. 5-star hotels are governed by rules and regulations and as a policy they cannot give away their excess food. There are legal liabilities and they have a reputation to protect. They just cannot take a chance with situations where food contamination could take place. “That is true. But we take the risk. By God’s grace such an event has never taken place. I am aware that my philanthropy could land me in trouble!” Mr Sivanandan displays his humorous side, but none-the-less, he does not allow any negative thought to overshadow his mission. His bright, sparkling intellect even came up with ideas to overcome the hardships of food distribution during the pandemic, when Roti Bank, just two years old, actually came to a standstill.

Roti Bank basically started operations in January 2018. In two years, hard work, discipline and proper planning enabled the team to distribute almost 11 lakh meals. And then came March 2020 when COVID had set in well and proper and all food distribution activities of Roti Bank had to stop. “How could we work? No weddings, no gatherings, so no food, excess or otherwise. No people around, it was curfew time. All we saw were ambulances on the streets and dead bodies on stretchers. It was a wretched period, no doubt. But suddenly the issue of the stranded migrant labour force cropped up. They were all holed up here and there and living through some very difficult conditions, not able to go to their villages. Away from home, money depleting, markets closed…,” laments Mr Sivanandan.

And then with ‘thinking cap’ on, they came up with an idea. Restaurants were closed. But they had staff, idling, and plenty of food stocks and empty kitchens. Mr Sivanandan explains, “We started to approach large-hearted restaurateurs. Tony Singh of Pritam da Dhaba was the first. He gave us cooked food, enough for 47,000 meals! Sticking to rules and regulations and COVID safety protocols, we started our distribution. Like, we first sent 10,000 meals to nearby Dharavi, then another few thousands to settlements where there was a huge mass of migrant labourers and so on.”

I think this is true compassion and dedication. So easily, the Roti Bank team could have thrown up their hands, gone home and stayed safe. But no, each of them, regardless of personal safety, under Mr Sivanandan’s astute guidance, took up the challenge and redeemed man’s faith in man. Not surprisingly, exponential growth was recorded during COVID; the tally of meals served, until then went up to 80 lakhs.

Not only did the pandemic not restrain the activities of Roti Bank, the NGO actually spread its wings outside of Bombay during COVID. It went first to Nagpur (“it was convenient to start here since I had been Police Commissioner there and assistance came easier"), and then to Hyderabad, Madras, Ahmedabad, Cuttack and Coimbatore, the last mentioned being Mr Sivanandan’s hometown and a place where he was born. The way the system has been set up is quite remarkable. All these cities have men of great calibre heading the operations. Mainly ex commissioners of police or ex director generals of police, all hand-picked by Mr Sivanandan. The line-up, in order of cities mentioned, is rather impressive; starting with Dr Purushottam Choudhary, Aruna Bahuguna, Letika Saran, Keshav Kumar, PK Mishra and Narayan Gupta. The last mentioned from Coimbatore is the only non-police head.

Funding comes to Roti Bank through donations. The NGO is registered with the Charity Commissioner and IT Commissioner. Here again the system is in place. Donations are accepted only through cheques and receipts are issued for every transaction. A wholesome meal comprising, rice, dal, chappati, vegetable and water, sometimes a seasonal fruit and a packet of biscuits, comes at a cost of Rs40 to Rs 60. Donors then specify the number of meals they would like to sponsor based on this calculation. The meals are cooked at the Roti Bank kitchen, where they have a current capacity to cook 11,500 meals daily. The capacity can be increased if necessary. The kitchen is equipped with expensive and heavy-duty machines (roti-making from Rajkot and rice-making from Bangalore, Mr Sivanandan informs); and the staff practises hygiene and always wears aprons, head gear and gloves. They have 11 vehicles, vans which distribute food, and 11 drivers, who double up doing other work when not on active duty. Their administrative cost is very low, with just one office person, one operational manager (Mr Tambe) and two cooks! “That’s the only way to do it. Keep costs low. We also have volunteers who come in from NSS (National Social Service).” Needless to add, the ex DGs and commissioners heading the centres don’t take a single paisa, Mr Sivanandan included. This is truly giving back to the society.

My next question, “Are people generous? Does donation come by easily?” brings forth a spontaneous reply. “Oh yes, yes, yes! There are many who have helped us, even unasked. People are very, very generous. We don’t have any marketing personnel or anything like that, but publicity and celebrity endorsements and appeals have helped. It has all been word-of-mouth. In the beginning, when I would address Rotary and other social groups, instantly there would be contributions made. There are people who contribute on a monthly basis, Rs. 10,000 to Rs.50,000. We received 50 lakhs each from ACC and Ambuja Cement. During the pandemic, every alternate day, Essar Foundation would send one truck-load of fresh vegetables – about one tonne – from the Poona market. People give very generously.” Mr Sivanadan speaks his mind very clearly and honestly. As always everything is above board. His candour for all the donations he receives, all the support he gets, is cause for joy. His face lights up when he talks about how Amitabh Bachchan sent a video recording supporting the cause, exactly on the day Rosy, his secretary, had promised. “That in itself was such a grand gesture, I have no words, it helped enormously,” says Mr Sivandandan, adding, “And you won’t believe it, one day, without any show of any sort, we received a cheque of Rs 60 lakhs from one Mir Foundation. I came to know this was a charity headed by Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla. So quietly and in such a dignified manner they helped us. This was during the pandemic.” Well, thumbs up to Bollywood. Jacqueline Fernandes has also contributed 40 lakhs (for one lakh meals). Boman Irani and Vidya Balan have also supported the Roti Bank cause.

 “Do you ever rest? Where does your energy come from?”  I ask this tireless human being. “Oh yes, I do, sometimes. And my energy comes from God!” comes the prompt answer. Asked to describe what a day in his life is like, he goes, “Look, I wake up at 4.30 am. And I am up till about 9.45 pm. I am fast asleep by 10 pm. After waking till about 6, I read. On my Kindle. I have in my library 3000 books stored. Then I go to the gym in my building. After that I come home and do some yoga and meditation.”

“I go to the Roti Bank office only now and then. I don’t need to go there everyday since I carry my office right here with me,” he says, pointing to his very smart Apple Pro laptop. “Images, from the activities of the day are all sent to me meticulously by my team, which I access on my computer. So I know exactly how each day goes.” Mr Sivanandan has lakhs of Roti Bank pictures in his Cloud account, which he happily scrolls and shows.

Not one to sit still for a moment, he fills his waking hours with intense activity, including giving lectures. “I accept invitations to speak because I am able to use my knowledge and experience as a police officer in helping society,” says Mr Sivanandan. “I have already given almost 400 lectures on just the subject of cyber crime and women’s welfare and senior citizen’s safety, alone.”

In conclusion: In a world where hunger prevails and millions perish due to starvation, here is a man, doing what he can, with determination and dedication. In conceptualising, setting up an organisation and personally working at it, totally hands- on, he is walking the talk, for sure and also proving where there is a will there is always a way. We just have to have noble intentions.