The difference that a single human being’s vision, compassion, dedication and passion, not to mention generosity, can make to hundreds of needy people in a community can be gauged from the story of past president of the Rotary Club of Deolali, RID 3030, Maharaj K Birmani.
On Sep 24, 28 years ago, Maharaj, a dedicated Rotarian of 40 years, an IIT Kharagpur graduate and a noted industrialist in Nashik district, set up a puri-bhaji centre, moved by the plight of the construction workers in the town who often turned up to work every morning on an empty stomach. The early reporting hours at the site gave them little time to prepare either breakfast or lunch.
Running a successful business on high tech security systems which he exported to many countries, Maharaj was extremely concerned about the underprivileged and needy people in the town, whose living conditions in the 1990s left much to be desired. Many of the construction workers in the town were malnourished. His concern for the poor and the desire to do something for them came from his association with the spiritual guru Swami Sivananda who gave a lot of importance to feeding the poor and needy. This left a deep impact on Maharaj’s thinking.
Over the years, the taste has remained the same… the result is that people queue up in cars to buy our puri-bhaji packets, for the simple reason that the taste is so good.
— J Sundararaman
past president, RC Deolali
So to help those who suffered from ailments related to nutritional deficiencies, initially Maharaj started a medical centre where the affected persons were given free medicines by a doctor.
Noticing that most of the patients who came here for medicines were emaciated and undernourished, the good engineer started distributing milk and bananas to these people free of cost. But after a little while, he noted that this did not bring about the results he was looking for. After consulting doctors and dieticians, he came to the conclusion that adequate nutrition was the only solution to improve the health of the people. Next, he consulted his club members on what could be done to feed the needy and poor with something that was nutritious.
Various options were discussed and finally the idea of setting up a place to make and give out puri-bhaji was accepted. But this was easier said than done. In May 1996 Maharaj launched a kind of pilot project, in which four puris would be served along with bhaji.
The bhaji had to be made without onion or garlic which a certain segment of the people do not consume for religious reasons. A recipe was finally decided upon and the bhaji was prepared using potato, urad dhal, green chillies, turmeric powder, curry leaves and mustard seeds.
For the past 15 years, Maharaj Birmani is also taking care of 100 people with very low or no income by providing them with monthly ration worth ₹750 and ₹1,000.
The resultant dish became an immediate hit with the poor, and 28 years down the line, utmost care has been taken to ensure that there is no tampering with the ingredients or the original recipe. The cost of the packet and its composition have undergone changes… the puris have gone up from 4 to 5, and even though subsidised, in the last 28 years, the cost had to be revised upward from the original ₹3 per packet to ₹5, 7 and now 10. On an average a labourer picks up 4 to 5 packets every day, which is sufficient for his family.
Maharaj’s caveat has always been that if a poor person cannot afford to pay even ₹10 for a packet, he/she will be given the puri-bhaji packet totally free of cost. The mantra is that nobody in Deolali should go to sleep hungry. Needless to say, he himself picks up the tab for the loss made due to the subsidy and the freebees, which totals to a neat ₹1 lakh or more every month.
“Over the years, the taste has remained the same… the result is that forget the poor and the needy, people queue up in cars to buy our puri-bhaji packets, for the simple reason that the taste is so good,” chuckles past president of the club J Sundararaman, who volunteers his time at the puri-bhaji centre. Even though run, managed and financed by Maharaj and his wife Roma, the project has been embraced by RC Deolali and its members. People also come all the way from Nashik city, about 18km away, to buy the puri-bhaji packets!
Till Sep 24, 2025, the centre had prepared and distributed 1.2 crore packets of puri-bhaji.
This is clearly because only good quality flour and potatoes are used and the oil used to fry the puris is never reused. In a small place, news of such hygienic practices spreads like wildfire!
While the puri-bhaji centre became a big hit and was embraced by the local community, particularly the daily wage labourers, who could just grab a couple of packets — both for breakfast and lunch — in the initial years, the fledgling project ran into some rough waters with local restaurant owners and even street vendors opposing it for fear of it cutting into their income.
Maharaj received threatening calls from them, but the compassionate industrialist, instead of getting daunted by this challenge, exhibited both humility and grace. He met all those opposed to this project, and explained to them the real objective behind it, which was not to make money or set up a business. His only goal was to see that the poorer people of their town should not fall ill for lack of nutrition or remain hungry for want of money.
Once it became clear that his aim was not to make money or start a food business which would affect already existing businesses, things started to change. And a full-scale project was launched during the tenure of the late Dr Arun Swadi as club president. It was named Project Rotary Shrama Parihar. The cost of a nutritious and tasty puri-bhaji meal was only ₹3 then. And those who didn’t have even this much, got it for free.
This venture became such a success that within two years Maharaj’s medical centre was closed down, as no longer was there a need to treat people or give out supplements for nutritional deficiencies.
Move over to 2025 and there are now two puri-bhaji centres, one in Deolali and another in the nearby village Sansari Gaon, and this benefits villagers in that area. “It is a franchise centre, they buy puris from here in bulk at ₹8 and sell at ₹10,” says Sundararman.
Of course, RC Deolali is totally involved in this project and supporting it. All birthdays or wedding anniversaries of club members are celebrated, with the member concerned buying a couple of thousand packets of puri-bhaji from this centre and distributing them to the needy in the community. Eight women and two young men are employed at the centre. The women roll out and fry the puris, and prepare the bhaji and the men do the other work including home deliveries when required. The food is prepared in the mornings and each of the women is paid around ₹6,000 for a three-hour job.
Almost 1,000 packets are produced and distributed at this centre every morning. While 300 packets are given out free, 700 packets are sold at ₹10. Many of the construction workers buy two packets — one for breakfast and the second for lunch!
Maharaj, a Rotarian since 1986, is now 79 and on dialysis, but he comes every day to the centre, and his wife Roma comes thrice a week, and herself makes puris. She is also in charge of the management of the centre, says Sundararaman. “He sits here, and gives ₹20 to very poor people.”
Sundararaman himself goes to the centre daily to help in packing the food, ensure that things run smoothly… his attachment to this project is all the more because “it was conceived initially when I was the club president,” he says proudly.
Apart from him another club member also comes regularly to monitor the operations and Rotary Anns from the club often volunteer their time to roll the puris!
Meanwhile, Maharaj’s business continues to flourish; “he has factories also in Goa, Hyderabad; he is one of the highest taxpayers of Nashik district and he spends nearly ₹2 to 3 crore on charity every year,” says Sundararaman.
The Rotary Shrama Parihar project is a great example of how Rotary clubs can embrace long term and sustainable projects to provide some relief in the difficult lives of labourers and other poor classes. ‘Nobody should sleep hungry in Deolali’ was Maharaj’s mantra long years ago, and it speaks volumes for his passion, dedication and focus that he has been able to run this project for 28 long years. Till Sep 24, 2025, it had prepared and distributed 1.2 crore packets of puri-bhaji. The project has also received Rotary International Award for Alleviation of Hunger.
An emotional Sundararaman says, “I’ve been witness to this project as a Rotarian, from the very first day of its inception till date. Believe me, it requires special skills and dedicated hands at the centre, patience and compassionate hearts to serve people who depend on the food prepared here.”
Like so many others, he too celebrates his birthday, wedding anniversary, etc by donating money for the puri-bhaji packets, “because we know where that money goes. Maharaj and Roma’s selfless service and dedication to the community is truly inspiring, as their efforts have left a lasting impact.”
Satyan Bhat, a member of RC Madras, who recently visited the centre along with his wife Parul, who spent an hour making puris here, said that he was overwhelmed by the service being provided by Maharaj and his Rotary team. “It’s an example that needs to be replicated by other Rotary clubs,” he added.
Service during Covid
Interestingly, during the dark days of the Covid pandemic, this puri-bhaji centre in Deolali was a rare eatery that was given permission by the local government health authorities to function, while all other hotels and restaurants were forcibly shut down. “During those days this centre demonstrated remarkable resilience and dedication to serve the community. At that time, the poor and vulnerable people in Deolali heavily depended on us to get their food and we did not let them down. Some of the Rotarian volunteers would come in the morning, and with the help of the boys working at the centre, pick up 100 packets of puri-bhaji and deliver them at people’s doorsteps during those challenging times,” says J Sundararman, past president of RC Deolali, who has served as volunteer at this centre started and managed by Maharaj Birmani for the last 28 years.
While this centre stood out as a beacon of hope during Covid and left an extremely positive impact on the community, not only about the philanthropist Maharaj, but also his Rotary club, its fame has spread beyond Deolali, so apart from members of this club, even the well-heeled from Nashik town come here to donate puri-bhaji packets to the poor in memory of their departed loved ones, or on their birthdays.
On such days, additional sweets or bananas are given free to all. The centre also feeds cows and stray dogs every day. Maharaj Birmani also takes care of 100 people with very low or no income by providing them with monthly ration worth ₹750 and ₹1,000. He has been doing this for the past 15 years.
Added to this he runs a multi-specialty medical centre where almost all medical systems such as allopathy, homeopathy, reiki, acupuncture are practised, and physiotherapy is also offered, all free of cost, including medicines. Every Tuesday and Friday cataract operations are done free at this medical centre.