Neeti Kaikini, 53, teaches poor kids, and distributes blankets and food to the homeless in Pune

 
Come Saturday, Neeti Kaikini is on a mission. She rides her two-wheeler through the busy lanes and by-lanes of Pune, looking out for the unfed. “There is no predetermined destination,” she says. “I just say a little prayer asking to be led to someone who could do with a hot meal.” For the past eight years, Kaikini has been doling out meals without fail on every Saturday. Her goodie box comprises two rotis, a vegetable dish and a sweet. Doesn’t she worry it may reach the wrong hands? “I can sense who is genuine,” she tells us. “Moreover, I avoid intersections where beggars ply.” In 2008, Kaikini, who was head of IT at Tata Management Training Centre, decided to listen to her heart and quit her job to pursue a “more meaningful life”. She elaborates, “It wasn’t an impulsive decision. I was fed up of the inane rat race and wanted to do something that would bring me genuine happiness.” She set out on her new journey by volunteering at Akanksha Foundation to teach spoken English to poor children. Later, she joined Team Miracle, a support group for cancer patients, paraplegic soldiers, orphans and destitute women, which visits cancer wards of hospitals to cheer up patients by performing for them. Mita Banerjee, founder of the group, says, “Neeti has the kindest of hearts and the voice of a nightingale. She can sing any song with ease.” Kaikini recalls how her parents, whom she lost to cancer, were proud of her social service. Incidentally, she brought in her 50th birthday three years ago with a bang—incorporating a new routine in her do-good list. Since then, every birthday has been spent in the company of the homeless. On her 53rd birthday on 13 November last year, she distributed 53 blankets. “Life is short. I want to touch as many hearts as possible,” she says before darting off on her two-wheeler.

—Suchismita Pai

Photo courtesy: Neeti Kaikini
Featured in Harmony — Celebrate Age Magazine
April 2018