The Devil and Narayanan Krishnan

And that is a shameless ripoff of the Title of Vincent Benet's 1939 classic short story, which itself was stolen blatantly from Washington Irving's 1824 faust tale. Anyway, I watched Narayanan Krishnan's speech during a fundraiser in New Jersey a few days ago organized by my aunt and a few of her friends. My parents, who were told by that same aunt that that speech moved her to tears, advised me to watch it. It didn't open the floodgates of fluids in me or anything, but it did give me hope about something I've been saying for quite a while now. India is moving forward despite the politicians who would hold her back. Because we are a nation whose greatest resource is not brain-power or man-power, but will-power to fight on against the odds. That translates to a will to make something out of nothing for folks like you and me. For heroes like Krishnan, its the green mile. See, for them, its about changing the lives of people who aren't lucky enough to be you and me.

Friends, this isn't my usual blog about a movie, because real life is more interesting with real heroes. So, its - to make this as unimaginative a vocabularial extravaganza as imaginable - about real heroes. Specifically, its about Mr. Krishnan (whom I've referenced four times now if you've been keeping tabs diligently, and if so, would have already guessed what the import of all this is going to be. Well done!), and to a lesser extent, my aunt and her friends.

And with that setup out of the way, let me get down to brass tacks. Narayanan Krishnan feeds four hundred people three meals a day seven days a week three hundred and sixty five days a year on less than four hundred dollars a day. Think about those numbers when you go for that next bag of Doritos or that ice-cream treat you've been promising yourself. Now, I'm not saying that you shouldn't indulge yourself - forsooth - but think about it.

Obesity means different things in different places. In the USA, it usually means that poor people are at the mercy of corporate culinary giants who dole out the bad stuff in heaps for a pittance. Let's not delve into that too much, because its a necessary evil here. In India, it means that the "I got rich quick" crowd has decided to gorge itself on the starches, often spending vulgar amounts of Gandhis to do so. Think about the difference you could make in the life of just one of those four hundred people only if you ate what your body needs to survive. I am personally overweight by about twenty-five pounds and by the time I've finished writing this spot, I'll make the solemn pledge that I'll try to eat only what I biologically need.That's possibly save that extra bag of crisps or that superfluous burger for the poor in the USA. It'll mean that extra leaf of corn that will be freed up to send to China to feed the needy there, or burn up for Ethanol to power our "green" vehicles and save the planet. There, that's my Krishnan move.

We are both a nation of the hungry and one of the gluttons. When I went back to India this summer, I was shocked to see that on average, two diabetes testing centers had cropped up on every street in Chennai; the same streets that were rife with beggars or all descriptions. My god, how much insulin would it take to combat those calories weened off the mouths of babes and sucklings, and how much loss in revenue would our country have to endure, treating this disease of the excess? Revenue that could have been used to feed the poor, or whatever was leftover after our politicians gorged most of it and got more diabetes.

Amidst this backdrop, what is it that sets Krishnan apart? Here is a man who had it all: a gourmet chef at a five-star chain with a life bearing the infinite possibilities of diabetes on the horizon. Yet, he threw all that away to feed people he didn't know but whose souls his own formed an intrinsic triple-bond with (as in, the strongest biological bonds found in our molecules). He took a bold decision to diminish his own material experience, but enrich the sustenance of so many. He decided to answer his call of humanity, and became a hero instead. Good trade-off, this. Granted, the people under his wing will never die of diabetes. But, more importantly, they will not die of malnutrition either. Now, that's no longer Endhiran or Spiderman or Batman territory. Hell, its not even his namesake Krish's territory. This is the domain of Annapoorna and Jesus supreme combo.

Look here, the supreme combo is all and well, but without facilitators, heroes can be but a pipe dream. That's where people like my aunt and her friends make their foray into this essay. People with the motivation to go above and beyond the call of duty of mere charity, who put together events such as plays and fundraisers for worthy causes. People like my aunt, who from my personal experiences with her, would rather go hungry themselves or sleep a little less to ensure that a needy person may never feel the pangs of hunger. These people are the antithesis of Marie Anne, who asked "them" to eat cakes. Their lifestyles oftentimes aren't practical, for most of us, it isn't feasible, and it certainly doesn't make for a good self help book on how to become rich and successful. But, its certainly a thesis on how to be a human being.

So, the need of the hour is not to be a Krishnan or my aunt or her friends. Be yourself. Be honest and live for the need, not the greed. I guess what I've been trying to say is, you don't have to be a Gandhi or a Periyar or even Krishnan to be a good citizen. Pay your taxes, don't spit on the road, throw that next water bottle into the nearest dustbin, and don't waste food on the plate. That's enough. I'm not saying that you shouldn't grease the palm of the next cop who pulls you over with an ulterior motive or pay full white on your next land-grab: Fair and Lovely works well for that matrimonial ad photo, but our country runs on the power of Black! But please, be a good citizen. And contribute or Akshaya or any other organizination doing the good works if you can. Ciao!