The IDIA North East Chapter, for its first fund raising initiative, explored a plethora of options- an event which would be viable in terms of both propagating the message of IDIA as well as raising an appreciable amount of funds. After numerous brainstorming sessions, the IDIA team here settled for an unorthodox approach for a ‘Food Fest’. A ‘Food Fest’ it definitely was- but a ‘harmonious participatory model’ was mooted where we approached both the student fraternity as well as the faculty members of National Law University, Assam (NLUA), to come together and “Cook for a Cause!”.
After an initial reconnaissance, during which substantial interest was exhibited by both the students as well as faculty members, the team approached the Registrar of the University, Mr. Himanshu Pandey to secure the requisite clearances. Upon the ensuing deliberations, Mr. Pandey showed keen interest and suggested the possibility of the event being a joint initiative of both IDIA and NLUA, by conducting the event under the NLUA University Social Responsibility (NLUA-USR) Scheme, a scheme which was long in the making, but lacked a proper “launch pad”! What better than a fund-raising event for a charitable trust like the IDIA?! Thus, after the completion of the requisite paper work, the stage was finally set for the Food Fest, which was slated for the 7th May, 2016 at 1 P.M.
The Hon’ble Vice-Chancellor, Prof. (Dr.) Vijender Kumar and the Registrar, Mr. Himanshu Pandey inaugurated the Inaugural ‘Cook for a Cause’ food fest, where 8 faculty members and about 25 students- set to work in groups- set up 12 stalls. With a three course meal set across the 12 stalls, where the menu included Gol Guppas , Pav Bhaji, Oreo Shakes, Mojitos, Lassi and Chaas as appetisers/ beverages, to Chicken Pulao, Rajma Chawal and Grilled Corn Chicken as the main course, and ending with the option of either caramel custard pudding, kheer and cup cakes for dessert, all of which were cooked by the faculty members and the students, people attended in huge numbers and thronged the stalls! Such was the response that certain stalls exhausted their delicacies within 20 minutes of service, while a certain stall selling desert ended up making 6 batches of the caramel custard pudding which proved to be a massive hit!
As the initiative was for a noble cause, all the stalls ended up donating their respective collections to the IDIA. It is imperative to mention that the first contributions on the day were made by the Hon’ble Vice-Chancellor, Prof. (Dr.) Vijender Kumar and the Registrar, Mr. Himanshu Pandey of NLUA, who themselves who chose to lead by example. Lastly, this fund-raising event ended up raising almost a quarter of a Lakh Rupees, which hopefully will go a long way in supporting the education of our IDIA Scholars. Upon popular request from the Respected Vice-Chancellor, Registrar, Members of the Student Bar Council (SBC), Faculty Members & the Student Fraternity, it was collectively decided that this event shall henceforth, become a bi-Annual feature at NLUA. Like Julia Child famously said, “People who love to eat are always the best people”. And if these people support the education of our scholars, could we ask for more? Until next time!
The NLUA website also published a small report on the event on its website, which you can look at here.
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Written by Subornadeep Bhattacharjee, Team Leader, IDIA North East Chapter, and Student, National Law University, Assam