Water bottles, roti sabzi: How country’s elderly came together at Jantar Mantar to take care of the young

Among them was Gurinder Singh (56), a volunteer from Punjab, who said, 'They're just like my children. We have come here to ensure they eat and don’t fall sick. It’s a long road ahead.'

A protester cools off his face with water during the protest march towards Parliament called by Cockroach Janta Party | Amit ANI

New Delhi:  A burger, a packet of biriyani, sometimes a samosa, or even a plate of roti sabzi, is how the protesters who came from all over the country fueled themselves as they participated in the Cockroach Janta Party’s Sansad Chalo march. ​

At Jantar Mantar, young people from tier one cities stood next to those from rural India, united by one single cause – accountability from the government. To keep the movement going, older men and women from across the country have come together to feed the nation’s youth who have gathered for the cause.

Gurinder Singh (56), a volunteer from Punjab, dished out plates of roti and sabzi to protesters at Jantar Mantar. “They are just like my children. We have come here to ensure they eat and don’t fall sick. It’s a long road ahead,” said Singh.​

Earlier in the day, a woman arrived at the Cockroach Janta Party’s protest site carrying several packets of burgers and flasks of tea. Protesters who had been at the protest site since the night before queued up to get tea and burgers.

“Yesterday night there was no internet, so we were not able to order food, and since we are afraid of being attacked, many of us were not able to step out for food either. But since morning, many elderly people have been joining us carrying food,” one protestor told ThePrint.

On the roads leading to the protest site, several elderly men and women stood with cartons full of water bottles, handing one to every protester walking towards Jantar Mantar.

One of them was a family who had parked their vehicle near the Parliament Street police station. “So many young children are participating, and it is so hot. We want them to be fit,” Ms. Ritu, who is a resident of Punjabi Bagh, told ThePrint.

Throughout the day, members of various communities carried cartons full of water to the protest site. As the evening descended, a group of protesters from Hyderabad brought piping hot samosas.

“Someone patted my shoulders, and the next minute I could smell samosas and kachoris. The protest site has turned into a space of community and care,” Sabah, another protester from Pune, told ThePrint.

(Edited by Pakhi Khare)