What to Donate to a Kanwar Shivir: Ration & Supplies Checklist

Not every gift has to be money. Some of the most useful donations to a Kanwar shivir arrive as goods — a sack of atta, a carton of sealed water, a bundle of mats — ready to be turned into a meal or handed straight to a tired bhakt. If you run a shop, a wholesale business, or simply want your giving to be something you can see and touch, an in-kind donation is a beautiful way to serve. This is a practical, printable checklist of exactly what our shivir needs, and how to get it to us.

Our Shiv Kavar Samiti has run a free Kanwar sewa shivir at Mahipalpur, on NH-8 in New Delhi near IGI Airport, for over thirty years. Every Sawan we feed and shelter thousands of kanwariyas walking home from Haridwar with Ganga jal. A langar on that scale — running day and night — swallows a huge quantity of ration and supplies. When you donate rice, atta or dal, you are quite literally filling the pot the next round of bhojan comes out of.

How to use this checklist

You do not need to bring everything. Even one item from one section is genuinely useful. But before you buy or pack anything, please message us on WhatsApp at +91 98189 08237 first. Needs shift week by week through Sawan — one day the kitchen is short on oil, the next it is mats or ORS. A quick message lets us tell you what is most needed right now, so nothing is wasted and everything reaches a bhakt.

Langar kitchen — the core ration

This is the heart of the shivir and where the biggest need is. These are the staples that become hot, sattvic meals through the night. Bring them sealed, unopened and within date — bulk and branded is ideal for a langar of this size.

• 🔱Atta (wheat flour) — the single most-needed item, by the sack, for endless rotis.
• 🔱Rice — good-quality, for khichdi, pulao and plain rice.
• 🔱Dal — arhar/toor, moong, chana or masoor, in bulk.
• 🔱Cooking oil / refined oil and desi ghee for the kitchen.
• 🔱Sugar and jaggery (gur) for sweets, halwa and tea.
• 🔱Salt, and everyday spices — haldi, mirchi, dhaniya, jeera, garam masala.
• 🔱Tea leaves and milk (or milk powder) for round-the-clock chai.
• 🔱Potatoes, onions-free sattvic vegetables and other fresh sabzi for cooking.

Water & refreshment

After food, clean water is the most constant need. Kanwariyas arrive dehydrated from walking in the monsoon heat, and a cold drink revives them instantly. These items go quickly and are always welcome.

• 🔱Sealed bottled drinking water, by the carton or crate.
• 🔱Glucose powder and glucose biscuits for a quick energy lift.
• 🔱ORS and electrolyte sachets to fight dehydration.
• 🔱Fresh fruit — bananas, seasonal fruit — light and easy for a fasting body.
• 🔱Buttermilk (chaach), lemons and shikanji ingredients for cooling drinks.

Shelter, rest & the kanwar

A bhakt who has walked all night needs a dry, shaded place to lie down for a while — and a safe stand for the kanwar, which must never touch the ground. These bigger items are perfect for donors who want to give something substantial.

• 🔱Tents, tarpaulins (tripal) and shade cloth to keep off sun and rain.
• 🔱Mats, durries, chatai and thin mattresses for resting.
• 🔱Bedsheets and light blankets for cool, wet nights.
• 🔱Kanwar stands and simple wooden supports so the kanwar stays off the ground.
• 🔱Pedestal fans, coolers or extra lighting to make the rest area comfortable.

Medical & foot-care supplies

Many kanwariyas walk barefoot, so blistered, cut and swollen feet are the most common thing our medical corner treats. A small medical donation prevents a great deal of pain on the road.

• 🔱First-aid kits, cotton, gauze and bandages of various sizes.
• 🔱Antiseptic liquid, antiseptic cream and pain-relief spray/balm.
• 🔱Foot-care ointment, blister plasters and anti-fungal powder.
• 🔱Common over-the-counter tablets — paracetamol, ORS, antacids (with a pharmacist's guidance).
• 🔱Volini/pain balm, band-aids and simple crepe bandages.

Serving & kitchen essentials

Feeding thousands means a constant flow of things to serve on and cook with. These everyday items are easy to source and always run low.

• 🔱Disposable plates (pattal), bowls (dona), cups and spoons — in bulk.
• 🔱Large serving vessels, patilas, buckets, jugs and serving ladles.
• 🔱LPG gas cylinders for the kitchen stoves.
• 🔱Soap, detergent, garbage bags and cleaning supplies for hygiene.
• 🔱Hand sanitiser and gloves for those serving the food.

A quick 'what does a langar need' summary

If you are short on time and just want the top few things a langar always needs, this is it:

• 🔱Atta, rice and dal — the three biggest, by the sack.
• 🔱Cooking oil, sugar, salt, spices, tea and milk.
• 🔱Sealed drinking water and ORS.
• 🔱Disposable plates and LPG gas.
• 🔱Mats, tents and a stocked first-aid kit.

How to arrange drop-off or pickup

Getting your donation to us is simple, and we will make it as easy as possible for you.

• 🔱Message us first on WhatsApp at +91 98189 08237 with what you would like to give and roughly how much.
• 🔱Drop-off: bring it directly to the shivir on NH-8 at Mahipalpur, near IGI Airport — we are open day and night through Sawan; look for the saffron flags and the Shiv Kavar Samiti banner.
• 🔱Pickup: for a larger quantity, such as several sacks or a full carton load, tell us your area and we will try to arrange collection.
• 🔱Timing: give within date and, for perishables like fruit and milk, coordinate the same day so nothing spoils.

A sack of atta given today is a hundred rotis in a tired bhakt's hands tonight.

Prefer to give money instead?

In-kind giving is wonderful, but if buying and transporting supplies is not practical for you, a cash donation lets us buy exactly what is short that day, at the best bulk price. Both are equally valued seva.

• 🔱Online (fastest): visit /donate and pay in seconds by card, UPI, netbanking or wallet through our secure Razorpay payment gateway.
• 🔱Bank transfer (NEFT / IMPS / RTGS): Punjab National Bank, A/C 0149000104323988, IFSC PUNB0014900, Khan Market branch — ideal for larger gifts.
• 🔱As a guide, roughly ₹35 feeds one bhakt a full meal, so even a small amount turns straight into ration.

Run by volunteers — nothing goes to waste

The shivir is run entirely by volunteers from our family and community, with no salaries and no middlemen. Whatever you donate — a bag of rice, a carton of water, a bundle of mats — goes directly into the seva and is used within hours. That is why we ask you to message first: so we take exactly what is needed and nothing you gave with love ever sits unused.

A note on tax: Shiv Kavar Samiti does not provide 80G or any tax-exemption certificate, and in-kind or cash donations are voluntary and not tax-deductible. We would rather be honest than promise a benefit we do not offer — please give simply as daan.

Ready to fill the pot this Sawan

Whether you send one sack of atta, a carton of water, a set of mats, or the whole day's fruit, your in-kind donation becomes real service the same day. Message us on WhatsApp at +91 98189 08237 to tell us what you would like to give and to arrange drop-off or pickup, or donate online at /donate by card, UPI, netbanking or wallet through our secure Razorpay gateway. Har Har Mahadev.