A Naogaon restaurant serving free meals for poor for 15 years
Every Thursday, around 200-250 people gather at the restaurant to eat their fill without any exchange
A restaurant where you can eat your fill for one meal, without paying any money or exchanging any item – sounds unreal? Such a place exists in Naogaon. Ali Ajgar Hossain has been running "Haji Najipur Hotel and Biryani House," near Baludanga bus stand in Naogaon district town, for the past 15 years, where he provides free meals for about 200 helpless and needy people every week.
On Thursday of every week, needy people from different areas around the city gather on the road opposite the Naogaon Judge Court adjacent to the Baludanga bus stand to have a fulfilling meal free of cost. The menu includes fish, meat, eggs, vegetables and pulses.
Chairs and tables are arranged in front of the restaurant around 3pm every Thursday. People of various ages from different areas start flocking to the arrangement. At first glance, it looks like nothing less than a festive event.
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People then start occupying their seats at the tables, regardless of gender. The waiters then serve plates of rice to them, along with buckets of potato curry and eggs to scoop out as per their preferred amount. They are also served with fish, meat, eggs, vegetables and pulses. Some waiters are seen serving water and a bottle of soft drink to each person. After finishing their meals with satisfaction, the individuals are often seen praying for the restaurant owner.
As the restaurant is next to the Naogaon court, it attracts a huge number of customers leading to a profitable income. restaurant owner Ali Ajgar Hossain said a part of the income from the restaurant is spent to provide meals for the underprivileged.
Ali Ajgar is a resident of Maheshchandrapur village of Singra upazila of Natore. He could continue his study till eighth grade due to extreme poverty. In 1997, he moved to Naogaon with his children and wife. He started working in a restaurant at the Baludanga bus stand for a daily wage of Tk25 and continued working there for several years.
Then one day, the restaurant owner closed the business out of the blue and moved back to his village. Ali Ajgar convinced the owner and reopened the restaurant subject to his permission. Initially, he started selling beef curry in small quantities. Gradually, the scope of the business continued to grow.
Ali Ajgar now serves people every day. Fortune changes with hard work and determination, and Ali Ajgar is another example of that.
Currently, he owns two restaurants bearing the same name – Haji Najipur Hotel and Biryani House – and 40 employees work at his restaurants. He is now living with his family on his own land in the Chakramchandra area of the city. He is successfully bearing the educational expenses of his three children.
Jarina, a widow living in the Dhaka bus stand area in Naogaon town, has no financial support. After the death of her husband, she started living on donations from others. She said, "I have heard from people that this restaurant offers lunch on Thursdays. For the last two years, I have been coming here to eat. I can eat my fill free of cost."
Senior citizen Rokeya, a resident of the Masterpara area of the town, said, "On Thursday, I visit door to door to collect donations from different areas. Then I arrive at the restaurant for lunch. A lot of people like me arrive here for having a meal without any cost. May Allah grant the restaurant owner more ability."
Although the number of people was less during the early days, now around 200-250 people gather every Thursday, said Ali Ajgar.
"Once I struggled in life. As my right leg is shorter than the left one, I was unable to do heavy work properly. I wished to feed the poor according to my ability if I could overcome my financial difficulties. Allah fulfilled my wish."
Ali Ajgar is happy to be able to provide food for the needy without any exchange. He wishes to keep it up as long as he can afford.
