While the other stories talked about how the personalities reached heights by surviving the hard times, Narayanan Krishnan’s story in our list of inspirational stories about hard times is a different one. It is an inspirational story about hard times and how one can help others in their hard times. This story is a tale about witnessing a distraught situation that can change the path of life.
It reminds us to be grounded and give back to society when we are privileged than the majority of people in this world.
Narayanan Krishnan was an award-winning chef at the Taj hotels Bangalore, India. He was very content with his life and happy about the heights he attained in his life with all the money and fame.
As we all know, life gives a jolt at a very unexpected time. Narayanan also had to go through such a jolt that turned his life upside down. One fine morning in the year 2002, when Narayanan was waiting at a traffic signal in Madurai, his native town, he witnessed an old man who was mentally ill eating his own feces out of poverty.
Such a scene would strike a chord for anybody. Narayanan Krishnan was visibly shaken and he stopped his car mid-way to puke. The old man depicted the grave reality of poverty and how worse it could bring a person to.
Narayanan was emotionally traumatized at the incident and he started questioning the ways of life. After several days of deep thinking, he quit his well-paying job and began feeding the homeless and mentally disabled people in his home town.
He started an exclusive NGO called Akshaya Trust Organization for this purpose in 2003. He feeds about 452 indigent and elderly people every day. He also gives them haircuts, shaves, and baths at regular intervals to give them dignity.
He was listed in the top 10 amongst the CNN heroes’ 2010 list. His life story has also been depicted in a 2012 Malayalam language film called, “Ustad Hotel”.
Narayanan Krishnan’s inspirational story about hard times teaches us the value of being grounded and returning our gratitude to society.