What do you do when you see an old helpless man greedily eating away his own waste? Look away, feel sorry for him, maybe even shed a few tears? Would you get down your air-conditioned car and give him the half eaten Maharaja Mac you’d bought for yourself?  Would you rush to the nearest hotel and fetch food for the hungry man? This is exactly what Mr. N. Krishnan did. He rushed to the hotel kitchen where he worked as a Chef and brought back idlis for the old man. After eating, the old man was so touched that he didn’t have any words to express his gratitude and Krishnan felt like he had conquered the world. He realized that there were a number of helpless people living on the streets of Madurai who were not in a position to even beg for food and this is how the idea of Akshaya was conceived.

When Care for India (CFI) spoke to him, he was more than enthusiastic to talk about the work he does. His passion towards his work was quite evident when he told us that he had given up his job as head-chef in a hotel in Switzerland. Akshaya is a trust that feeds over 400 homeless mentally challenged people living on the streets of Madurai. This trust is a 5 member team who cook 3 meals all 7 days of the week. They then drive around the city personally feeding the people. N.Krishnan first started with feeding about 5 - 10 people in 2003 and now is taking care of over 400 people. He bathes the people once a week and gives them hair-cuts whenever required. When the barber (a Brahmin) refused to attend to the homeless, he himself took a course in hair-dressing. He now has a practiced hand for 8 – 9 hair-cut styles.

Regardless of being a Brahmin, he has cremated over 170 unclaimed dead bodies with proper rights and rituals. The incident that touched him deeply was finding a 17-18 year old mentally challenged girl who was pregnant. Krishnan helped with her delivery and took the new-born under his wing he later found a reliable family to take care of the little boy. He is now 4 years old and is being looked after well. Such incidents of coming across a pregnant homeless girl are not uncommon for Krishnan as young college going students get drunk and misbehave with the girls living on streets.

The trust is now constructing a rehabilitation home for these people on the land donated by Infosys. Out of the 8 wings planned, 2 wings are already under construction and will be ready for use by the end of January 2010. He has 12 permanent donors. He spends Rs. 12000 per day for food and other expenses and is short of 8 days’ expenses every month which he just somehow manages by asking family and friends to pitch-in. Besides the shortage of funds for the monthly expenses he is need of funds for building the remaining 6 wings for the rehabilitation home. CFI requests people to come forward and help keep his commendable work going.

To know more about Akshaya Trust Projects and ways in which you can support the cause, follow the link http://www.akshayatrust.org/