Everyday a large number of homeless, poor people who
cannot afford a decent meal, line up in neat rows under the Dabeerpura bridge
in Hyderabad. Every man, woman and child wait for their turn to pick up a
plate, washes it and sits down in formations.Many in the line have not eaten
for days, but they still wait their turn. Without a hassle, rice is served on
each plate followed by dal and Khichdi. This has been going on for more than
three years, with one man sincerely running from end to end serving the food.Azhar Maqsusi is a 36-year-old who lives in the Old
City in Hyderabad has been unrelentingly feeding lines of destitute people in
the afternoon as part of his daily free-food camp for the past three years."It
all started around three years ago. I hardly ever took that route but my tyre
got punctured that day and I decided to catch the local train from the station
under the bridge when I saw a physically handicapped woman with her feet
amputated," says Azhar, recalling his tale, which has been profiled by others too.
Azhar still remembers that the woman's name was
Lakshmi and she was crying, begging for food instead of money as she hadn't
eaten in days. “My father died when I was four years old and my mother
struggled a lot to raise me and my siblings. I know what it is like to sleep
hungry," he says. Azhar immediately gave away the food he was carrying home
to the lady.The next day Azhar's wife, who he seemingly adores and
admires, cooked food for around 15 people. He went to the same place and
distributed the food. "Initially, food packets were distributed but later
on, we started cooking in the space under the flyover and fed them there
itself," he says. What Azhar did not realize was that there were more
mouths that needed to be fed than he could afford to. "I have a Plaster of
Paris interior design business and we live a very simple life, so we could afford
to give, but the numbers kept piling up," he adds.
In two months, there were at least 50 people every day
waiting for Azhar. It was then that he decided to hire a cook who is paid a
fixed salary every month to start cooking in larger quantities.Despite all
this, he never took a single rupee from anyone and spent for everything from
his own pocket. This went on for close to one and a half years until luck came
his way again."A stranger had lost his way and found himself
amid this. He was travelling above the bridge for many years and did not
realize that this was happening below. He then told his brother, who had come
down from the US about this," he says. Following that, Azhar has received
16 sacks of rice, each weighing 25 kgs, every month from his well-wishers.
"Acts like that only strengthen my will to keep on going," Azhar says.
This is one of mind blowing and unknown stories about one person who has golden heart.#quora
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