Bhawanipatna: A small-time cycle repair shop owner, Ajit Katta is known more for being an altruist.
Ajit, a resident of Shiv Mandir Pada under Bhawanipatna sadar in Kalahandi district, lives in a hut, with his wife Bhumisuta, a son and daughter. A small cycle repair shop at Bhawanipatna Jagannath road is his sole source of income.
His shop opens early in the morning. Local people say they hardly ever see Ajit haggling for money. “He happily keeps whatever one gives him for his labour,” they observe.
Obvious as it is that the earning from the shop is hardly enough to meet the daily family expenses. Yet he saves something for rainy days.
Cut to his altruism aspect.
He withdraws something from his saved money to feed beggars, once a week. And he gets immense pleasure from feeding them.
“The moment I see a smile on the lips of beggars while they are having their lunches, it soothes my heart. The pleasure I get through giving something to the needy ones is inexplicable. It is divine. It is aptly said that ‘Service to mankind is service to God,” he boasts.
Ask him what makes him to be so generous, he says, “I was born in a very poor family. I am still living in poverty. As I have seen poverty from a close quarter, I know the pain of going hungry to my cost. This is the reason I am giving them food once in a week, as per my capacity.”
