“Momo is comfort food. They may not be able to get that ever. So, this is a chance for me to give them the momo experience and make them happy. This brings me peace and happiness. Knowing that some people are fed today, I can sleep well at night.” Zoheb Bhutia, Owner, MO mosquare
Right before the pandemic’s second wave hit the country, Bhutia and his partners decided to open a momo joint in Safdarjung Enclave area of Delhi, named MO mosquare.
The restaurant couldn’t work in full operation due to the lockdown and the only option left was delivery. He didn’t want his people to sit idle and that’s when he decided to share momos.
Since April 2021, Zoheb and his friends have been feeding plates of steaming Momos to almost 300 homeless people in Delhi every night, and that too for free.
According to him, “he saw these people every day for months while driving through AIIMS and Safdarjung Hospital. They came for the operation of their kids, which they couldn’t afford and now they cannot even go back.”
Since then he was determined to provide them food and water for their survival, he says, “this is the least we could do.”
Zoheb comes from a family that owns a hotel in Gangtok, the first in Sikkim. The only food that they served there was momos, so he and his mother decided to give Delhi the same authentic flavors.
According to Zoheb, “this is a team effort.” His team comprises 5 people apart from him including a doctor who joined them for this noble cause and goes with them to diagnose some patients and prescribe the medicines.
Sometimes it is difficult for them to feed all of the people since there are often more people than the food and they start to grab the food, but the children help them in handling the crowd.
They make sure that every week they bring chocolates or ice cream for the kids. The kids call him “Momo Wale Bhaiya” and eagerly wait for his arrival.
Things are getting better, since a video of them distributing momos went viral on the social media page of St. Paul’s School, Darjeeling, Bhutia’s alma mater.
Now they are getting help from the school’s alumni association and former students from all across the world. His friends have also supported him for his cause and social media has proven to be quite helpful too.
His cause has blown out of proportion since the national media has got the news and now help is pouring in from all over the nation.
You can find him and his friends every night at around 10, distributing momos, water, hand sanitizers, and medicines outside AIIMS.
Even on days when he cannot go himself, he makes sure to send something for them because he knows they would probably be left hungry and thirsty on the streets.
Before seeing the big picture, Zoheb has first started from the bottom and even though as of now he isn’t gaining profits, he’s winning many hearts.
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