From Hunger to Hope
Growing up in poverty in West Bengal, Kajuli Biswas knew what it meant to live with hunger. There were days when even one proper meal was difficult to manage. Those childhood experiences stayed with her, shaping her empathy for people who struggled to find food.
Married at just 15, Kajuli hoped life would become easier. Instead, hardship followed her into adulthood. When she saw hungry people on the streets of Katwa, she recognised a pain she had known herself. She could not simply walk past them.
A Marriage or a Mission
Kajuli began feeding the hungry, but her efforts met with opposition at home. According to media reports, her husband gave her an ultimatum: choose him or continue feeding people on the streets. She chose the hungry!
The decision came at a heavy personal cost. She lost the security of her marital home and had to rebuild her life with limited resources. Yet she refused to abandon the people who depended on her kindness.
Her Gold Became Food
Starting a food service without money seemed almost impossible. Kajuli sold her gold earrings to purchase provisions and prepare meals for those in need. What she owned became the means to feed people who owned very little.
She also earned through tailoring to support her work, while community support helped her continue. Her struggle was not a one-time act of generosity; it meant finding the resources and strength to provide meals day after day.
Bengal’s Annapurna
Today, Kajuli is affectionately known as Bengal’s Annapurna. In Katwa, West Bengal, she prepares and distributes free meals to nearly 100 hungry and destitute people daily, particularly around the railway station.
Her journey has attracted attention because she chose to act on a problem she understood from personal experience. She now hopes to expand her service and establish an orphanage for vulnerable children.
Kajuli Biswas turned the hunger she once endured into a reason to ensure others do not go hungry. She had little to give, yet she began with what she had, and kept giving
