Shikha Chaurasia
Delhi, October 8, 2020: Often we hear incidents where social media platforms are used to spread hatred, violence, propaganda and other such things but once again, it has been proved that good triumphs above everything.
A video of an elderly couple who work in a tiny kiosk in Malviya Nagar, Delhi, known as ‘Baba ka Dhaba’ went viral on social media. The video was actually shot by blogger Gaurav Vasan. In the video, 80-year-old Kanta Prasad can be seen along with his wife Badami Devi. Kanta Prasad tells Gaurav that they start working early in the morning by 6:30 am and prepare meals like matar paneer, dal, curry, rice and parathas for lunch. The pricing per plate ranges from just Rs 30 to Rs 50.
In the video, Kanta Prasad soon breaks down and says that they have been rendered helpless due to the COVID-19 pandemic and have suffered huge economic setbacks and are left with little or no money.
The video was shared by Vasundhara Tankha Sharma who tweeted, “This video completely broke my heart. Dilli waalon please, please go eat at Baba ka Dhaba in Malviya Nagar if you get a chance. #SupportLocal.” Soon it went viral on social media. Help and retweets started pouring in huge numbers proving that social media, when used in the right way, can literally change lives.
Celebrities, cricketers, companies and thousands of people got overwhelmed after watching Kanta Prasad wiping away his tears and soon urged the people of Delhi to visit the Dhaba and boost Kanta Prasad’s business.
People promised to eat at Baba ka Dhaba and made lunch plans while some promised to help the couple financially. Amongst Bollywood celebrities who tweeted were Randeep Hooda, Raveena Tandon, Sonam Kapoor, Sunil Shetty and Swara Bhaskar. Cricketer R Ashwin also tweeted along with the IPL team Delhi Capitals. Famous food delivery app Zomato also tweeted.
Kanta Prasad was astonished and overjoyed with the number of people who started coming to his Dhaba. Queues of people could be seen outside his tiny kiosk.
An overwhelmed Kanta Prasad said that the support of the people feels like the whole country is standing with him.
People who went to Baba ka Dhaba clicked photos and urged more people to come in and eat there. Some also commented that soon Kanta Prasad will have to keep waiters to support the growing business.
Aam Aadmi Party MLA Somnath Bharti also visited Baba ka Dhaba and promised Kanta Prasad to help him and others like him who suffered a setback due to the pandemic. He also tweeted, “दिल्ली, तुसी ग्रेट हो! It was a spiritual experience to witness a sea of people visiting Baba Ka Dhaba to help the elderly couple. This is y it is called ” दिल्ली दिल वालों की”.This is what makes us human. Let this b d beginning to ensure that no1 sleeps hungry in this city! Luv all!”