India: 84-year-old Padma Shri award winner reveals inspiration behind decades of selfless service

New Delhi: 84-year-old Jagdish Lal Ahuja has been serving food outside health institutes to poor patients for decades and the wisened old man, popularly known as “Langar Baba”, says the inspiration came from his grandmother.

It was back in 1981 when he set up his langar before moving outside PGIMER in the year 2000 where he has been feeding the poor ever since.

Awarded the Padma Shri - the country’s fourth-highest civilian award earlier this year - the octogenarian deserves praise for helping the destitute. “The inspiration came from my grandmother, who used to organise a free kitchen for the poor in her hometown Peshawar (now in Pakistan), where I was born. Our family was displaced during the Partition in 1947 and we came as refugees to Mansa town in Punjab,” he says.

As his father struggled for the family’s survival and sold sundry items on pavements, Ahuja, then 12-years-old started selling namkeen dal (traditional snack) at the railway station. He recollects, “I was a kid, but felt responsible enough to earn some amount to add to the family income. Soon after, we moved to a refugee camp in Patiala and I sold gur (jaggery) and chana (gram snack), followed by candy and fruits in local buses.”

During the mid-1950s, when India’s first planned city Chandigarh was being built, Ahuja relocated with merely Rs.415 in his pocket. He hired a cart and vended bananas at the wholesale agro market.

Since no one in the area knew how to properly ripen the bananas, Ahuja made good use of his art that he had learned on his own through trial and error method. He started the wholesale trade of selling the fruit and made a good fortune. As business progressed, he became popular as the ‘banana king’ of the city. Working hard throughout the years, he was now a millionaire and bought several properties.

In 1982, Ahuja and his wife Nirmala decided to organise a feast on their son’s eighth birthday. However, after the celebrations, a feeling of guilt crossed his mind. “I recalled the time when I had slept on an empty stomach. Comprehending that numerous people faced poverty and starvation, I resolved to contribute whatever I could to lessen the sufferings of others. The next morning, I organized a free kitchen outside my shop,” Ahuja explained.

He was amazed to see the number of people who turned up for a free meal. He said: “What was supposed to be a one-off treat for the poor, became a regular evening feature. Though, after much deliberation, I shifted the venue to the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER). Thereafter, we started the free meal system even at the Government Medical College Hospital (GMCH), as at both hospitals patients from several states, including Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, get admitted for treatment for various ailments.”

The food served daily to over 2,000 people, including patients’ attendants and relatives, comprised pulses, vegetables, rice, chapattis (Indian bread), bananas and halwa (sweet dish). While Ahuja would try to serve food to people, his wife carried balloons, candies and biscuits for the children. Soon, Ahuja was nicknamed ‘Langar Baba’.

Over a decade ago, when Ahuja was diagnosed and being treated for stomach cancer, he still ensured the free meal was not affected. But he had to scale down the quantity of food, which is now served to over 500 people. In recent years, for want of funds, he sold off half-a-dozen properties, including farmlands, showrooms and residential plots to continue carrying out the community work. “The mission to feed the poor will not stop as long as I am alive,” Ahuja promises. “The blanket I use during winter is one among a bundle that I distribute to people. Instead of wearing flashy and branded outfits, I have always maintained a simple lifestyle. I know what poverty is and prefer to offer clothes and financial assistance to the needy,” he adds.

He continues to deal in the fruit business and apart from distributing free meals, Ahuja does other social activities like contributing to old age homes. He divulges, “Over the years, many people have offered money and commodities to get associated with my mission. But I have always declined any kind of support, as I feel I have been blessed with enough wealth and want to provide relief to people from my own resources.” Honoured by several organizations for his good deeds, Ahuja did not believe when he received a call from an official in Delhi informing him of being listed among the Padma Shri awardees. “I merely laughed and was pleasantly surprised when the official continued to talk in all seriousness. I still feel I am just doing my duty,” he shares.