Masterchef Narayanan Krishnan in CNN list of top 10 heroes

For every chef worth his ladle, a chance to work in Switzerland is like travelling to the Moon. Narayanan Krishnan must have undergone a similar feeling when he landed a lucrative job in the chef’s paradise. But a quick trip to his hometown in Madurai before his European sojourn turned his life upside down. That was in 2002. A young Krishnan was working with a five star hotel in Bangalore when he landed the job with a Swiss hotel. Krishnan returned to Madurai to bid goodbye to his parents and also to visit the Meenakshi Amman temple there.

On his way out of the temple, the sight of a man eating his own excreta for want of food pricked his conscience. Krishnan instantly decided to chuck his Swiss job and dedicate his life to feeding the homeless and the destitute. Today, the 29-year-old is among CNN’s list of top- 10 heroes who have made a difference to their surroundings.

Krishnan was picked from thousands of nominations from all over the world by a panel comprising activists and philanthropists such as Muhammad Ali and Sir Richard Branson. The annual ‘Hero of the Year’ honour is to recognise ‘everyday individuals who are changing the world’. The winner will be picked in an ongoing online poll which will conclude on November 18.

In addition to receiving $25,000 (Rs11 lakh), all those who have made it to the CNN’s top 10 would be honoured in Los Angeles on November 25, when the award will be handed over in a glittering ceremony. Krishnan said watching the man feed on his own excreta triggered something within him. He bought him a plate of idlis. “I gazed at him eating the idlis. After finishing the food, he didn’t offer any word of thanks.

Instead, tears rolled down his cheeks. I took his hands in mine. Had he thanked me I would have forgotten the episode and left. But his silence spurred me on and changed the course of my life,” Krishnan said. What started with 30 poor people in 2002 went up to 400 the next year and Krishnan feeds all of them twice daily.

“ Initially, I started buying food from hotels and served the mentally ill and the destitute. Since the food from the hotel was expensive and lacked quality, I decided to cook it myself,” Krishnan recalled. Giving up a dream job in Switzerland and feeding the poor did not go down well with his parents.

But today, they are not only convinced of his mission, his sister also lends him a helping hand.

“ You feed them, I will feed you till I am there,” were the words of his mother, whose reservations changed after she made a trip to Akshaya Trust which was founded by her son to carry forward the work.

Krishnan now is a regular feature on the streets of Madurai. Driving a white Maruti van, he goes from one place to another delivering food to the destitute and often feeding them with his own hands. From the beginning, he was clear about what he wanted to do. “ I did not want to feed the beggars. My concern is primarily for the abandoned — the mentally challenged and the destitute,” he said.
Over the years, Krishnan has gathered a trusted band of followers which helps him in his effort. His service does not end with feeding the hungry. Krishnan takes them to Akshaya where they are given a bath and if need be, a hair cut as well. He is trying to develop Akshaya as a home for the destitute.

So far only four of the eight blocks have been completed. Each block costs around Rs 30 lakh and Krishnan hopes to complete work on the building by January. The best things in life often come unexpected. Krishnan is not at all disappointed that he left a lucrative job. Instead, he is a contented man.

“ It was the agony of hunger that drew me to do something to alleviate it. Doing it without any inhibition is more important, as Mother Teresa had done,” Krishnan, who looks to carry on the legacy, said.