'தேவாவின் பக்கங்கள்' (Deva blogs): India

Indian Idol?If some one asked us who is Indian Idol, immediately we might have started thinking about some waste/useless TV programs and naming someone… ha-ha.. let me leave my frustration and keep aside, at least for a moment…

Do you know? If you had not heard of Narayanan Krishnan, it is a collective failure. This is one of the most incredible stories of personal commitment.

Meet Indian Hero: Narayanan Krishnan, all of 29 years old now, does what he was professionally trained to do as a chef. Feed people. Only Krishnan does not do this in the swanky confines of a 5-star hotel. Every day, he wakes up at 4 am, cooks a simple hot meal and then, along with his team, loads it in a van and travels about 200 km feeding the homeless in Madurai, Tamil Nadu.

Krishnan feeds, often with his hands, almost 400 destitute people every day. And for those who need it, he provides a free haircut too

Who is Narayanan Krishnan? He (born 1981) is an Indian chef turned social worker. He started supplying meals to the homeless in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India.

He was a bright, young, award-winning chef with a five-star hotel group, short-listed for an elite job in Switzerland. But a quick family visit home before heading to Europe changed everything.

"I saw a very old man eating his own human waste for food," Krishnan said. "It really hurt me so much. I was literally shocked for a second. After that, I started feeding that man and decided this is what I should do the rest of my lifetime."

Krishnan was visiting a temple in the south Indian city of Madurai in 2002 when he saw the man under a bridge. Haunted by the image, Krishnan quit his job within the week and returned home for good, convinced of his new destiny.

"That spark and that inspiration is a driving force still inside me as a flame -- to serve all the mentally ill destitute and people who cannot take care of themselves," Krishnan said.

Much to the dismay of his parents, CNN says, Krishnan abandoned his career plans and decided to spend his life and his professional training in looking after those who could not care for themselves. He has provided more than 1.2 million hot meals through his nonprofit organization Akshaya Trust, and now hopes to extend this to shelter for the homeless too.
Krishnan is the only Indian in a list of 10 heroes that CNN has picked worldwide to honor. One of them will be chosen CNN Hero of the Year, selected by the public through an online poll. If many Indians get together to vote for this inspiring man, he can win by a long mile.

Krishnan founded his nonprofit Akshaya Trust in 2003. Every day, he wakes up at 4 a.m., cooks a simple hot meal and then, along with his team, loads it in a van and travels about 200 kilometers (120 mi) feeding the homeless in Madurai, Tamil Nadu. He serves breakfast, lunch and dinner to 400 indigent and elderly people in Madurai. Since 2003, he has served more than 1.2 million meals.

The group's operations cost about $327 a day, but sponsored donations only cover 22 days a month. Krishnan subsidizes the shortfall with $88 he receives in monthly rent from a home his grandfather gave him.

Krishnan sleeps in Akshaya's modest kitchen with his few co-workers. Since investing his entire savings of $2,500 in 2002, he has taken no salary and subsists with the help of his once-unsupportive parents.

"They had a lot of pain because they had spent a lot on my education," he said. "I asked my mother, 'Please come with me, see what I am doing.' After coming back home, my mother said, 'You feed all those people, the rest of the lifetime I am there, I will feed you.' I'm living for Akshaya. My parents are taking care of me."

For lack of funding, the organization has been forced to halt construction on Akshaya Home, Krishnan's vision of a dormitory where he can provide shelter for the people he helps. Despite the demands and few comforts his lifestyle affords, Krishnan says he's enjoying his life.

"Now I am feeling so comfortable and so happy," he says. "I have a passion, I enjoy my work. I want to live with my people."

International Accreditation: CNN has nominated Indian Narayanan Krishnan (the only Indian) in the top 10 CNN Heroes. A panel comprised of luminaries recognized for their own dedication to public service selected this year's top 10 CNN Heroes, according to CNN.com. The names were chosen from more than 10,000 nominations submitted by viewers in 100 countries.

My take: I am happy that I stayed, studied in that wonderful divine city, Madurai and happy that I got a chance to meet him. After look him, it remembered me about Vallalar and ISKCON’s Food for life, but the above personality is entirely different not associating himself with any religion. Stories like these really help restore some of my faith in humanity. The amazing things some people are capable of doing never cease to astound me. His work is Divine...Its beyond what any words can appreciate. May God bless him with the strength to keep going!!

What you can do? Check out the Akshaya Trust Web site and see how to help.

Disclaimer: Just publishing in English for the sake to reach more ‘illiterate’ people…BTW, I don’t have any affiliation with this trust. But I am happy to promote and spared the word…