Celebrating the art of donating with great food: that was what the ‘Battle of the Buffet’ held on Wednesday as part of Daan Utsav 2014 was all about.
Leading restaurants from the city, including Taj Coromandel, GRT Grand, Copper Chimney, Hot Breads, Rain Tree, Le Meridien and Savera had put up an exotic menu for visitors to the event, which also saw a performance by singer Vijay Yesudas.
Restaurateur M. Mahadevan said, “When we started six years ago, we collected Rs. 85 lakh; today, it stands at Rs. 2.8 crore. It is quite a challenge to get funds each time. At the end of the day, we want the NGOs to benefit from this.”
This year, around 55 NGOs have come together for the utsav. Dayanidhi Maran, whose ‘Leading India for Equality in Life Trust’ helps bury unclaimed bodies coming to Salem General Hospital, had put up a stall showcasing their activities. Expressing the hope to raise some money through the event, he said, “Everyone deserves dignity after death. So we took up this service. Every month, we get about 15-20 bodies and it costs around Rs. 1,000 to bury each of them. If visitors here today contribute something, it will help us to perform the last rites of at least one.”
Other organisations like Ekam Foundation, Courtyard by Marriott and the Confederation of Indian Organisation for Service and Advocacy will also host various philanthropic activities to raise funds for underprivileged persons.
As part of the celebrations, on October 2, a 1000-kg chocolate cake, embellished with Tamil lyricist Vairumuthu’s words, will welcome visitors at Forum Mall.
“Each kg will be priced at Rs. 1,500 and the proceeds from this sale will go towards charity. We have to finish selling the entire cake the same day; if we manage to do it, we can generate Rs. 15 lakh,” said Boopesh Pichumani of French Loaf.
