When four-year-old Shanku innocently spoke about his dislike for upma in February and suggested biryani and chicken fry as alternatives for the anganwadi menu, his mother, Aswathy Ashok, captured the moment on video and shared it on Instagram.
She never imagined the video would go viral.
Government takes note
Cut to today, Kerala's Women and Child Development Minister, Veena George, came across the clip, shared it on Facebook and assured that the child's suggestion would be taken into consideration. True to her word, George included egg biryani in the revised anganwadi menu, which was officially announced on Tuesday.
The updated ‘model food menu’ was unveiled during the state-level inauguration of the anganwadi Praveshanolsavam in Pathanamthitta. Designed by the women and child welfare department, the revised menu aims to reduce sugar and salt while enhancing calorie and protein intake in line with nutritional standards. The new offerings include pulao along with egg biryani.
New Kerala anganwadis menu
Eggs and milk will now be provided on three days a week, up from the previous two. The revised menu will guide the food provided for breakfast, lunch and general feeding. This marks the first time a unified menu is being implemented for anganwadi centres across the state.
Shanku, 4, is currently in Qatar and, according to his mother, is thrilled about the new menu. Officially named Trijal S Sundhar, he is the only child of Somasundhar and Aswathy. The family is currently in Al Khor, Qatar, where they joined Somasundhar during the summer vacation.
“We’ll return to our native place by mid-July, and he’ll join school then,” said Aswathy. The family hails from Prayar near Oachira in Alappuzha. She explained that the viral video was not staged intentionally.
“After Shanku’s choroonu, his father went back to Qatar. I used to share photos and videos of Shanku on Instagram so his father could see him. The biryani video was just one of those casual clips,” she said.
Shanku is not fond of upma and prefers porridge and black-eyed peas.
With upma being served daily at the anganwadi, he gradually began to dislike it. He made his now-famous request for biryani and chicken fry while enjoying a plate of biryani at home, his mother said.
