Weddings in India are a grandiose affair with multiple functions and ceremonies. Food forms an integral part of such weddings, and, more often than not, families over-cater to ensure that their guests don’t go hungry. Thus, a lot of food is wasted in the process. In such a scenario, the sight of a woman dressed in her finery, sitting on a railway platform in Bengal, and offering leftover wedding food to the poor stands out. We have no idea if it’s some deeply-held principle about reducing waste or a goal to feed the homeless, but the woman’s effort has, nevertheless, been very inspiring.

Nilanjan Mondal, a wedding photographer, shared the moment on a wedding photographers’ page on Facebook. Mondal identified the woman as Papiya Kar, who was seen feeding the poor with leftover food from her brother’s wedding. This happened at around 1 am on December 5 at Ranaghat Junction, a Kolkata Suburban Railway station. We could see the woman wearing traditional wedding attire and serving the food on paper plates by herself in the photos. People of all ages had congregated at the platform where she was distributing food. There was Dal, Roti, Sabzi and rice among the dishes served.

Over 1,200 people had liked the Facebook post and many even commented on it. Some said that it wasn’t an isolated case and that Kar had, in the past, too, cooked meals and served them to the poor and needy. One of those commenting in Bengali appreciated the woman’s act of kindness and added that if everyone had a similar mindset, society would be a better place. There were other comments such as “great job”, “great work”, and “so proud of you”.

A few days ago, in another similar humanitarian deed, a 10-year-old girl Lyla, who used to sell cookies to raise funds for her leg treatment, got help from an Instagram user in the most unexpected way. The user, Charlie Rocket, shared a clip on Instagram, showing his interaction with the girl. When he asks the girl about her “dream”, she says, “I like to cook. I have made cookies today,”, and goes on to add that she was doing a fundraiser at her home for her leg treatment. Click here to watch the entire clip of Charlie interacting with the girl and find out how he decides to surprise her.

We look forward to more such small acts of kindness because they never cease to make us smile.