Millionaire Taj Chahal (younger brother of Gurbaksh Chahal who we covered here) celebrated his 29th birthday with a twist.He threw a catered dinner for 300 strangers at Martha’s Kitchen, a San Jose charity that serves meals to the homeless and working poor.(link)

Last year the Chahal brothers sold their latest start-up, BlueLithium, an advertising technology company, to Yahoo for $300 million.So Taj decided to take some time off, but he’s not the type to veg out in front of the TV all day. He sat down and made a to-do list:1. Get in terrific shape.2. Take flying lessons.3. Do something really nice for people who need help.

Chahal began researching local charities and found Martha’s kitchen via You tube.He contacted Edita Cruz who runs the soup kitchen. Then he decided to celebrate his birthday by giving a dinner to all the regulars who come there everyday.

So on Tuesday, when the regulars arrived, they found the dining room decorated with red tablecloths, balloons and festive place mats. Dinner included ravioli and meat balls, salad, garlic bread and, of course, birthday cake.The tab came to around $8,000. Chahal, wearing a black T-shirt, red pants and disposable plastic gloves, walked from table to table, serving juice and accepting thank-yous graciously if a bit self-consciously.

I think its great that he decided to do this. If nothing else it may inspire others to do a little . Chahal does not plan to stop here:

“In the long term, I want to do something big with philanthropy – scholarships, building schools, that sort of thing,” he said. “You know, when you get closer to the big 3-0 you start thinking a lot about your life.”

Happy Birthday !

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