Grandpa Kanta, the owner of a rice shop in New Delhi, India, weeps after having no customers due to Covid-19. Kanta Prasart and his wife, Patmee Devi have been running the small street food restaurant in the Malviya district, South delhi, India since 1990 until the impact to corona virus.
They serve fresh, home-cooked meals – the menu typically includes parathas, a round, buttered bread popular northern India, a gravy of some kind, rice and dal, a thick soup of lentils. A meal sells for less than 50 rupees. About $0.70.
The pandemic has hit vendors hard in India, forcing many store owners to shut shops.
Kanta Prasart and his wife see almost no customers some days, and the food that has been prepared would waist. Grandpa became very frustrated to the point that he decided that it was time to close the business. But only one video clip changed Grandpa’s story.
The poor old man was seen crying in a video recorded by a food blogger as he talks about his struggles.
The blogger, Gao Raph posted shared the clip on Instagram asking everyone to help the two grandparents. The video travelled quickly, soon making its way on to Twitter and Vasundara Sharma, a young political activist with more than 10,000 followers saw the clip of Grandpa Kanta crying in the stall and was touched.
The woman shared the video with the caption:
“This video completely broke my heart. Dilli waalon please please go eat at बाबा का ढाबा in Malviya Nagar if you get a chance”
It didn’t take much time before the tweet was noticed by celebrities – from Bollywood stars, cricketers to politicians – and ordinary people alike urging people to visit the stall. The video has been watched over four million times.
Customers have been flocking to the spot, touched by the video of the stall’s 80-year-old owner crying over the lack of business during the pandemic.
Grandpa Kanta and Grandma Patmi were surprised by many customers coming out from everywhere to buy and waiting in a long queue. TV crews have been showing up as the stall and its owners continue to grab headlines. Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor and cricketer R Ashwin are among those who have offered to help.
In addition, Gao Raph, the blogger who found grandpa’s shop told bbc that he has collected around $2,700 in donations to repair the stall and the couple’s house.
TV crews have been showing up as the stall and its owners continue to grab headlines. Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor and cricketer R Ashwin are among those who have offered to help.
And then the image of a crying old man becomes a picture of an old man smiling brightly from the heart. “I did not expect this to happen, I am really grateful. Grandpa Kanta told local media.
Zomato, the famous Indian food ordering app announced that they have added Baba ka dhaba’s shop into the app without charging any fee.
