*G.C. SHEKHAR* Narayanan Krishnan feeds a mentally ill man *Chennai, Nov. 2: *Narayanan Krishnan, 29, cooks and delivers breakfast, lunch and dinner to over 400 people every day on Madurai’s streets, stopping to feed with his own hands those who are too weak or too ill to eat by themselves.
The chef with a five-star hotel chain who gave up his job and the offer of another from a hotel in Switzerland eight years ago has now been named among CNN’s top 10 heroes for 2010. Krishnan says he was surprised when CNN first informed him that he was in the top 24 since he had not entered his name for the award. “Someone else had sent my name along with what the media had written about me and a link to my*akshayatrust.org*. That had convinced CNN to include me in that list from 10,000 entries from over a hundred countries. I was really moved when a non-partisan panel sent me to the top 10 since it meant that my work has struck a chord across the world,” he said. Krishnan’s nomination and his making the top 10 — he is the only Indian on the list — is proof that the most fundamental act of kindness — feeding the hungry — still moves people. Another top 10 hero, Scot Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow, is on the list for the same reason — he runs a programme, Mary’s Meals, that provides one free meal daily to over 4,00,000 children around the world. A 61-year-old woman from Nepal who has been working for 16 years to rescue and rehabilitate sex trafficking victims and a Cambodian former child soldier who clears landmines are also among CNN’s top 10 “everyday people changing the world.” The hero of the year, to be chosen through online voting, will be announced on Thanksgiving night in Los Angeles. Krishnan was on his way to Meenakshi temple in 2002 when he saw an old mentally ill man eating his own faeces. “I rushed to a nearby hotel and bought him food, which he ate in a hurry and smiled back at me. “That smile got etched in my heart and I asked myself what is the use of cooking for rich strangers abroad when people in my own city are going without food every day,” he recalled. His parents thought he was crazy when Krishnan, then 21, told them he was turning down the job offer from the Switzerland hotel. They have since changed their mind. “True, initially we were shattered by his decision. But even before all the accolades, we realised that our son has taken the right path. People compare him with Mother Teresa,” said an emotional K. Narayanan, Krishnan’s father. In eight years since June 2002, he has cooked and distributed over 1.5 million meals, according to a rough estimate. Operating out of a rented place, Krishnan and a team of four volunteers start cooking early in the morning. The food in large containers is then transported in a Maruti Omni donated by a good Samaritan who pays for its maintenance as well. There are donors for the food — costing Rs 12,000 a day — for 22 days a month. “There are those who unfailingly donate every month, including this corporation sweeper who gives me Rs 10 every month when my van passes through the street she is sweeping,” says Krishnan. Grocery and vegetable merchants chip in by supplying provisions at a subsidy. The shortfall is paid for from the rent Krishnan gets from his grandfather’s house. He lives with his parents. Krishnan’s van takes a fixed route every day so that no one among the mentally ill and the aged destitutes is left out. For those who can eat by themselves, he serves the food on paper plates. http://www.telegraphindia.com/1101103/jsp/nation/story_13133809.jsp -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Mental Health Advocacy (News 'N Views) India" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/MhaNewsViewsIndia?hl=en ------------- Affiliated Groups : MENTAL HEALTH ADVOCACY INDIA [email protected] Discussions on mental health law / policy / plan monitoring / human rights etc [email protected] India-specific news and views related to mental health [email protected] Information and support to carers of people with mental health issues [email protected] Mutual support and sharing of experiential knowledge, skills and social learning amongst peers
