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Comment by bruceb | Hacker News Reader

There are not that many Sikhs around. 22 million in a country of 1.2 billion. Most live in the north. You can't easily go get food from Sikhs.

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There is a large Sikh diaspora in my country, Canada. Anyone can go into a Sikh temple here and be fed, although I don't imagine many people know that.

Also, every week a Sikh group feeds the homeless and disenfranchised on East Hastings in Vancouver.

So yes, I can in fact easily get food from the Sikhs. :) And I have, when I was amongst the disenfranchised. It was very appreciated.

How is the wealthiest province of Canada even remotely comparable to India in the aggregate?

The point about majority of Sikhs living in north is irrelevant. The gurudwara provide free food. There are multiple gurudwaras in almost all Indian states [1]. Most of them have langar though some only do on weekends. You can always find one using Google Maps at a location near you, though it might be inconvenient if you have limited means of travel. Several poor people shift base and reside outside or even inside gurudwaras for free accommodation and food.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_gurdwaras Some of the gurudwaras

> ...it might be inconvenient if you have limited means of travel.

Google Maps...really? I don't mean offense for being obtuse, but I sense a bit of first-world bias in your assessment.

I would imagine that for someone who is so poor that finding a simple meal is a daily struggle, what I might perceive as an inconvenience is almost certainly a show-stopping barrier.

You can’t easily go get food from Sikhs? As in what terms?

If you are in South India and are poor, how are you going to find a gurdwara? Might be quite far away and require bus fare that you don't have.

Its also a question of mobility, if you are staying far would you spend money and time to travel just to eat and get back, especially given you have to work the whole day as well.

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