A usual day can turn into an unmemorable event with just one incident. Mr. Pradeep Tanna and Mrs. Damyanti Tanna’s only son, Nimesh, a 22-year-old photographer was a caring, compassionate and kind person towards everyone. On one morning of August 2011, Nimesh was traveling in the Mumbai local. He was out to go to a meeting and was supposed to come back home right after it. That horrific day, Nimesh could never make it home.
“We were best friends since childhood. We went to the same school and attended the same college. We even worked together in the same company before he decided to pursue his passion for photography. We had decided to go for a movie that night but I didn’t know Nimesh would never return.” Kintan Parekh, Nimesh’s friend, told.
He was hit by a pole located close to the tracks as he got his head out of the train. His head was hit so badly that he fell immediately on the track and died instantly. His friend Kintan was with Nimesh’s parents when the railway authorities broke the news on the phone and told a dead was lying on the tracks near CST railway station.
“I was with his parents at the time they got the call. They were worried as Nimesh’s phone was not reachable. His father was a heart patient so I didn’t tell him exactly what had happened. I just told him that Nimesh had met with an accident but was fine. But when we reached the accident site, his father broke down. He couldn’t believe what had happened. It was such a tough thing to accept for everyone. We took the dead body home where hundreds of Nimesh’s friends were waiting along with his mother. He was a well-known boy and everyone loved him,” Kintan told The Better India.
Nimesh’s family was in a big shock. His parents were finding it hard to cope with the huge loss that can never be replaced. They were found sitting in front of his picture remembering him.
Another shock hit the family when their own business partners cheated them and Nimesh’s father lost his sweet shop in Mulund. Kintan left his own family business to assist Nimesh’s parents with their new business venture. Together, they opened a new sweet shop in Mulund.
After becoming a little stable, Nimesh’s family decided to honour their son. They registered the Shri Nimesh Tanna Charitable Trust (SNTCT) on January 26, 2013. SNTCT’s objective was to provide food to those who can’t afford to have proper meals.
The Trust collaborated with dabbawalas who made sure the healthy food went to the ones who most needed it. What started from feeding 30 hungry people now feeds 100s of them, SNTCT has progressed a lot. A staff of seven now cooks a healthy meal in a new kitchen in a small space near their house in Mulund.
“Nimesh was always socially inclined. He would help people in need, donate money, do volunteer work — he was very compassionate. His parents thought that starting an NGO under his name would be the perfect way to pay a tribute to their son.” told Kintan.
SNTCT also works with a tribal community near Mumbai. They provide them ‘food kits’ that contain necessary cooking ingredients like, foodgrains, oil, sugar, flour, etc., for the entire month to ensure they too can have a healthy meal. SNTCT’s ‘Kids Bank’ supplies clothes, toys, books, cycles, etc., to needy children, and its senior citizens’ initiative supplies medicines to the senior citizens.
The trust is supported by the money that Nimesh’s family earns from their sweet shop. Some donors too have started to support the trust after knowing about its beautiful endeavour.
“There couldn’t be a better tribute to Nimesh. He was a person with a golden heart and we are trying to keep him alive through the Trust,” said Kintan.
