Harshada Prakash Temghare: Her face suddenly swelled in her early 30s, and she discovered an apple-sized lump in her lungs; she recovered by adopting home remedies, and now runs her business to feed people: Meet Harshada Prakash Temghare
We all encounter those moments in life that leave us in pieces.When health scares us, we usually think about getting better and going back to normal. But for some people, normal no longer feels like enough. They come out of hard times with a new sense of purpose. One such story is about a woman from Pune who chose this path from a frightening diagnosis to a kitchen full of hope and purpose.
Meet Harshada Prakash from Pune, who, after discovering she had cancer following facial swelling, decided to feed others
Harshada Prakash Temghare was in her early 30s when her face began to swell. According to an Indian Express report, she said it looked “like a football”. For nearly four months, tests found nothing. Then a chest X-ray revealed a lump larger than an apple on her right side. The diagnosis was lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system, which is part of the body’s immune system.Doctors proposed chemotherapy and radiation, a package the family estimated would cost Rs 20 to 22 lakh. Then her husband, Prakash Temghare, wondered, “Nobody in our house has any addiction. How did cancer happen at 32 or 33?” Oncologists gave no definite cause, though the family said they pointed to changing diets and lifestyles as a possible factor.
The couple decided to rethink their diet and turned toward natural and herbal options
Then they got in touch with a collective of organic farmers and Dnyaneshwar Bodke, whom they call their guru, and also tried home remedies such as a herbal decoction and turmeric and tulsi in milk.The family said the lump dissolved after two chemotherapy cycles, though doctors still advised a longer course. Each cycle meant a 15-day hospital stay.
Recovery felt like a second chance to live
Recovery felt like a second life to her. “I felt God had sent me back for a reason,” she said, and decided to take up annadaan, the service of feeding others.Within a year of her illness, the family began cooking organic meals in Pune’s Wargaon area. The kitchen uses copper, brass and clay vessels, with no aluminium or steel, and its oil is wood-pressed while the ghee comes from indigenous Gir cows.During COVID-19, the kitchen run by her supplied meals to hundreds of patientsDuring Covid-19, the report says the kitchen supplied meals to around 800 patients and created a “Brahma Khichdi” from mixed dals, Indrayani and Ambemohar rice, ginger and whole spices. Today it sends out more than 1,000 tiffins a day to Hinjawadi, Wakad and nearby areas. It offers Jain meals and has served millet-based food since 2019.
She also gives employment to women
About 20 women from Abhinav Bachat Gat, a self-help group, now work with the venture, and eight auto-rickshaw drivers handle deliveries. “The biggest happiness is that women are earning through us,” she said. She has also started farming her own land under Bodke’s guidance and recently received a Mahila Shetkari (woman farmer) certificate.
