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 organisation 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 honour*. 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 here.  <http://heroes.cnn.com/vote.aspx>The poll
continues
through November 18 at 6 a.m. ET.


Read more at:
http://www.ndtv.com/article/catch%20of%20the%20day/catch-he-brings-hot-m
eals-to-india-s-homeless-61029?cp <http://www.ndtv.com/article/catch%20of%20the%20day/catch-he-brings-hot-meals-to-india-s-homeless-61029?cp>