New Delhi December 25, 2020
During the days of the nationwide Covid-19 lockdown, V-logger, and food blog enthusiast, Gaurav Wasan, was moved by the plight of migrant worker Kanta Prasad, owner of the inconspicuous street food outlet in Malviya Nagar – Delhi – Baba Ka Dhaba. He recorded and shared a video on his social media of 80 –year- old Kanta Prasad, narrating the woes and hardships brought about by the lockdown.
This was extremely well received by viewers and translated into a record number of hits. It was viewed by over 30 million people on Instagram and over 50 million on Facebook and millions of views on YouTube too. This video opened up a Pandora’s Box of National popularity for Kanta Prasad and his wife Badami Devi his pillar of support at the street side Dhaba.
We had heard of migrant stories and difficulties being faced by millions of people in India, due to the sudden loss of livelihood. 80 year old Kanta Prasad’s story was a heart-rending one which melted hearts through the massive reach of social media. The teary eyed, emotional Kanta narrated how he had no customers and was in dire need and poverty.
His story like most of the migrants started with the exodus from their native villages to bigger cities to fend for themselves and their families. Kanta Prasad had left his native place Azamgarh (U.P) in search of a livelihood in the 1970s. He had a brother in Delhi and that is where he headed to from Azamgarh. Since then he has been in Delhi. Baba Ka Dhaba was set up in 1990. Prior to the lockdown, the octogenarian was saving 5000 – 7000 Rs per month after settling his regular and daily expenses. Since then, he and his wife Badami Devi have been investing nearly 12 hours in a day into their small business and earning to meet the needs of their family and themselves. The unexpected and sudden lockdown had been very harsh for them and they were faced with starvation and extreme poverty.
The helplessness of this senior citizen and his wife who were struggling hard to make two ends meet, moved millions of viewers and they received overwhelming support in terms of donations and customers. Long queues of customers were seen post the lifting of the lockdown, not only to sample their delicious food but also to click “ selfies” with the extremely popular social media star couple .
In a sour twist to this exciting tale, news of Kanta Prasad having sued the food blogger and having registered police complaints against Gaurav Wasan surfaced. Accusations were made against Wasan saying that he had manipulated the donations meant for Kanta and his Dhabba to his account and to those of his family and friends. Wasan vehemently denied and refuted these charges. He even backed his claims with supporting documents. Wasan received strong backing from many people who felt that his good deed was being given a nasty twist by miscreants and rumour mongers. Wasan, on the other hand said he would file defamation suits against certain you tubers who he felt were playing mischief mongers for personal gains.
Kanta Prasad received the support of film stars like Sonam Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra Jones who used their social media to show their solidarity with him and such causes.
There were rumours of actor Salman Khan having bought a house for the couple, and cars being gifted to them by a compassionate individual, but a fact check revealed that these were baseless statements…..well…. at least till date.
It would be apt to say that this is one “rags to riches” story. The latest on this front is the recent acquisition and inauguration of a new restaurant by the Baba Ka Dhaba owner. Not one to break off old ties, Kanta Prasad has opened his new restaurant near their old stall in Malviya Nagar.
Kanta Prasad and Badami Devi have moved well beyond their pitiable poverty stricken state to a much better style of living thanks to many of the considerate individuals in society for whom donations and supporting those in need is second nature. These are the people who reiterate faith in humanity.
It is heartening to note that the Matar Paneer and other delicious food from the Dhaba have made it to the stomachs of thousands of its fans and well –wishers, post the social media visibility. The passionate you tuber – Gaurav Wasan created a huge stir and set the ball of popularity rolling for Baba Kanta Prasad, by posting the interview video on his channel “ Swad Official . ’’
It is indeed interesting to note that Baba’s story went much beyond satiating regular appetites. It created history by fanning another kind of hunger – the Marketing hunger of top brands. Born in discussion and meeting rooms of large companies and brands, this hunger has unleashed a marketing warfare. Reputed and big brands, like Pepsi, and Zomato, famous social media apps and payment apps are all vying for a piece of the hot selling lucrative name today – Baba Ka Dhaba !
