Every day, near the buzzing streets of Mayapuri in West Delhi, at around 12 pm, a few ladies and a 70-year-old volunteer quietly set up a food stall. No banners, no flashy signs, just a few people busy arranging plates, dishes, and getting ready to serve food to passers-by.

In just about half an hour, a crowd begins to flock to the stall — daily wage workers, rickshaw pullers, delivery executives — all queuing up patiently, not for charity, but for a hot, home-cooked meal they can pay for with dignity.

At the heart of this humble effort is 53-year-old Sanjay Dodrajka, a chartered accountant by profession and a social worker by heart.

“I didn’t want people to feel like they are begging or taking food for free. Rs 10 may not seem like much, but paying for your food gives you self-respect. And that’s everything,” smiles Sanjay.

From working in a corporate environment to serving people

Sanjay became a qualified CA in 1996 and went on to work for corporates. He was not happy as he believed he had to do social work to have some purpose in life. He quit his corporate job and began his own CA firm around 2003. But his story didn’t end with balance sheets and audits. “I was always drawn to social work, even as a student,” he says.

In 2014, he lost his close friend in an air crash. Deeply affected by this tragedy, Sanjay and a few of his friends started a volunteer-led NGO ‘Hamari Udaan’ in his late friend’s memory.

With no office, no full-time staff, and no grants, the initiative began with health camps and school outreach programmes. But over time, they realised the impact of consistent, simple acts—like serving nutritious food every day—was far greater.

And this thought gave birth to the ‘Food With Dignity’ programme.

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