though I am usually against the ancient practice of relaying forwards,
this one perhaps demands an exception:
If you had not heard of Narayanan Krishnan, as I had not, it is a
collective failure. This is one of the most incredible stories of
personal commitment.
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.
According to CNN, eight years ago, this award-winning chef with a
five-star hotel chain was all
set to go to Switzerland for a
high-profile posting. On a visit to a Madurai temple, he came across a
homeless, old man eating his own human waste. That stark sight changed
Krishnan's life.
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.
If Krishnan wins he will get $100,000 in addition to the $25,000 that
he gets for
being shortlisted for the Top 10. Akshaya Trust needs all
the monetary support it can get to build on Krishnan's dream. Let's
help him get there.
Vote for Krishnan on
http://heroes.cnn.com/vote.aspx. The poll
continues through November 18 at 6 a.m. ET.
Source:
http://www.ndtv.com/article/catch%20of%20the%20day/catch-he-brings-hot-meals-to-india-s-homeless-61029?cp
