Zoheb Bhutia feeds the people living on the streets outside Delhi's hospital.
(Graphics: Veeru Krishna Mohan)
Camerapersons: Athar Rather, Shiv Kumar Maurya
Video Editor: Puneet Bhatia
It’s a hot and sultry evening outside the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi when little Raju spots the all too familiar autorickshaw. But today, the auto doesn’t stop at the bus stand right outside the hospital. It drives past, just slowing down for a moment so that the people sleeping at the bus stand can see it.
On cue, little Raju and his friends start chasing the auto, their ‘momo wale bhaiyya’ is here.
Zoheb Bhutia distributing momos.
Since April 2021, Bhutia and his friends have been feeding plates of steaming dumplings or momos to almost 300 homeless people in Delhi – that’s almost 1,000 momos every night. And he does it for free.
Right before the second wave of COVID, Zoheb and his partners opened a momo joint in Delhi’s Safdarjung Enclave area. But they couldn’t continue full-fledged operations due to the lockdown. The only option left was delivery. So now, the 1,000 momos are prepared every evening at this small restaurant for feeding the poor and the hungry. Zoheb and his family have had a long association with this Tibetan dish.
Zoheb's momo restaurant in Delhi.
Sometime in early April, a video of Zoheb and his team distributing momos went viral on the social media pages of St Paul’s School, Darjeeling, Zoheb’s alma mater. Suddenly, help started pouring in from the school’s alumni association and other former students spread across the world.
Zoheb and his team distributing momos.
Around 10 every night, Zoheb and his team can be found outside AIIMS distributing momos, water, hand sanitisers and medicines.
To help Zoheb, you can send your contributions to:
Zoheb Bhutia
HDFC Bank
Ac No: 50100221768940
IFSC Code: HDFC0002649
Branch: Stellar IT Park, Noida
Email: zohebbhutia@gmail.com; hope@thequint.com
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