Mahmood Attaullah Shariff Shataj Khadiri Baba, a 79-year-old man from Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh, has been running a 24×7 kitchen to provide food for the needy at the Khadar Vali Baba Dargah of Babametta in this Andhra town.
He has been operating this kitchen for the destitute and needy for six decades now. Baba Attaullah has been feeding the poor and this has become an integral part of his life.
Baba Attaullah as a teenager was inspired by Huzoor Hazarath Khadar Vali Baba’s speeches and started following his footsteps by feeding the hungry. He considers Vali baba as his guru.
He prepares mutton and chicken biryani for around 400 to 500 people daily and distributes it to everyone who needs food. He visits the needy at the bus stand, railway stations, temples and mosques across the town.
Baba Attaullah has been doing this for 64 years and serves meals to over 30,000 people every single day on special days such as Ursu Vustav in the name of Annadanam. Apart from this, he cooks and serves food to the hungry who come to Dargah. The Khadiri Baba kitchen has been the only hope for people during the Coronavirus pandemic.
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During the first wave of Covid, he distributed about 1,27,800 food packets in Vizianagaram.
Baba Attaullah's kitchen is called biryani Baba and has turned into a food destination for the migrant workers who travel to their native places through Vizianagaram. While in the second wave, he is preparing food for at least 800 to 1,000 people daily. His son Khaleel Babu loads a pushcart with food packets and distributes them to the hungry.
Attaullah Shariff Shataj Khadiri Baba while speaking to The New Indian Express said, “I am following my guru’s words as law from the last six decades by feeding the hungry. I believe that hunger has no caste or religion. Service to humans is equal to service to God. I am just providing meals to the needy with the help of donors and devotees."
He further asserted that he will continue doing this service until his last breath and wishes that his family will proceed with his legacy.
"I appeal to the public to help the poor," he concluded.
Biryani Baba’s son, Khaleel Babu, who looks after food distribution, said, “My father has four children. All of us would follow in the footsteps of my father and his guru Hazarath Khadar Vali Baba.”
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Humankind needs people like Biryani Baba who selflessly serve the hungry expecting nothing in return and send out a message of brotherhood that is above any religion or caste.