Free milkshake to quench your thirst

A group of socially committed people named the ‘Chalai brothers’ provide milkshake / sambharam / water free of cost to everyone coming to Chalai market in Trivandrum.

We are just halfway through the month of March, but the temperature is already a blistering 35C. Predictions are that in the next few weeks it might even go as high as 38C. Tiring for anyone living in the capital city.  Imagine ourselves shopping in a busy market place with the sun on top of our heads! A pretty irking situation naa?…now imagine that you are one of the traders or laborers working in the market or an aged man caught in the heat of the mid-day sales (or mid-day sun). Dehydration, sweat, tiredness, anger and what not. A glass of cold water can bring some comfort to our sapped vitality. Instead if we are given cool drinks or badam  milk, we can’t help a smile appearing on our heat-dried lips! Lets meet a group of ordinary people doing this noble deed for free for the last one year.

 

Chalai market, 12pm, the roads are busy as usual, sales and shouts on a ceaseless pace, sun is glowing ever brighter over our heads letting no one escape the relentless heat…yes, everyone is tired and down..But the flow is unending! And over there, a throng of people- young and old, purveyors and punters, men and women waiting for their turn. A group of people are serving them with cold bedam milk. Smiling are the ones who got their share of bedam milk, happy and thankful. The sad kids are smiling again, the tired sellers are energetic again, the general mood is happy again. This is not an apparition, this is an everyday picture of the Chalai market- thanks to a  group  of socially committed men who call themselves the ‘Chalai Brothers’.

A group of 10 people who doesn’t want to reveal their identity forms the Chalai brothers. For the last one year, they have been providing juice/ water free of cost to everyone coming to the market from noon to 2pm. Mostly they do this 3 days a week- Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday. One day it is mooru/sambharam, next day rasna/drinks,  another day bedam-milk or pista-shake. About 700-1000 cups are provided per day. “Per day expense comes around Rs.1300, and the 10 of us share this expense equally between us. Once in a while some kind-hearted customers give us small amounts to help us with this”- said one of the brethren.

“We aren't doing this thing for any publicity or profit, but to serve the ordinary men in small ways possible to us. But we wish other people out there in another parts of the city to come forward with something like this and serve the common people, then our place can be a much better place”- said another member of the  brotherhood.

“The rich and young people of this generation are only concerned about their fortunes; they are not concerned about the lives of others- their fellow human beings. There are so many ways in which they can help others, not necessarily very big things, but even small deeds like this. And they can help bring a smile to the faces of many”- expresses another member of this group.

You don’t have to be a keen observer of the subtle nuances of our fellows to understand their problems, just have an open mind and an open eye. There are so many things worthwhile and interesting happening out there. And through our subtle deeds of kindness we can bring smiles to many lives out there. Have a go, see smiles galore!...

ps: this was written a month back..:)