This volunteer group serves ginger tea to migrant workers at the MGR Chennai Central Railway Station

This volunteer group serves ginger tea to migrant workers, and other frontline personnel at the MGR Chennai Central Railway Station

Tea vendor M Suresh’s day starts earlier than most; his morning routine begins with boiling packets of milk, as he skins pieces of ginger to make tea. Making ginger tea is a family affair at his home in Pudupet where his pushcart lies waiting to be pushed out. Twice every alternate day, he heads to the MGR Chennai Central Railway Station to serve tea to migrant workers, police personnel, Railway officials and conservancy workers. Guided by Chennai-based Srini Swaminathan, an independent consultant in the social development sector, Suresh is battle-ready, armed with steaming cups of ginger tea to help migrant workers in the case of a complete lockdown. Last year, during the exodus of migrant workers following the imposition of a nation-wide lockdown, Srini and his team of local food vendors managed to put together around 1,00,000 food kits and over 35,000 cups of ginger tea.