Pav Bhaji and Purpose

RAC Mumbai Mulund South, RID 3141, gathered at club secretary Ruchi Bheda’s house early in the ­morning  with aprons on, ready to cook up a giant batch of Pav Bhaji for Project Dabbawalla, an initiative to distribute nutritious meals to individuals in the Khindipada slum in Mumbai. The team assigned roles — chopping, stirring, seasoning etc. “And soon the air was filled with the aroma of tomatoes, spices and butter. Some members took on the role of taste-testers and got playfully competitive over who could make the bhaji taste just right,” smiles Ruchi.

Comparing the atmosphere of her house to a “food festival!” she adds that “we were cooking, chatting, and dancing in between stirring the bhaji. The best part was that we knew each plate would mean something to the person who received it.”

Khindipada is a densely populated slum near Bhandup, Mumbai “where families face challenges like limited access to water, sanitation and healthcare. We went door-to-door navigating through the narrow lanes and distributed the freshly prepared Pav Bhaji to over 200 residents.”

Through the Voices Unchained initiative, the club extended support to sex workers and their families in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai. Members gathered essentials like sanitary napkins, food packets and educational kits, addressing daily needs often left unfulfilled.

In collaboration with Apne Aap Women’s Collective (AAWC), an NGO supporting sex workers, the Rotaractors raised over ₹1.5 lakh, contributing a year’s supply of sanitary napkins for 1,000 women and educational kits for 60 children.

The team visited neighbourhoods to distribute the essentials and speak with families, listening to their stories and their dire needs. “For us, this was more than material support,” says Ruchi and adds that this “was about creating dialogue and showing respect for a community often overlooked.”