Giving till it Hurts

- Keerthan Noble

What‟s the thing that hurts you the most?

Your grades? Your ego? Your empty wallet? Well,

I‟d like to disagree with Forest Gump and let you

know that life is not always a box of chocolates, at

least not in our world today. Where there is

freedom and joy in one end, there is strife, grief and

turmoil on the other.

In a world like ours, giving sufficiently is just

another hobby that many of us have adopted. But

have you ever tried giving till it hurts? Have you

ever given that extra 100 rupee bill to someone in

need without thinking about yourself or a sip of the

last few drops of water from your water bottle to

someone with a parched throat…? Hurts right?

The idea is not to give charity, but to do more than

that. People today, look at being taken care of

sympathetically and empathically, and have least

interest in money. All people want is, to be secure

and a little of your precious time.

The sense of belongingness has, however, lost its

essence and people are becoming more self-centred.

We could help bring it back and show those who

feel neglected, that we care.

Help others, Help in making a difference! And

give…till it hurts.

Department of Hotel Management, Christ University, Hosur Road, Bangalore 560029 Vol. 3 (1), February 2013

Repertoire

February, the month of love. In this issue of Akshar, we are looking at a less talked about

angle of love- celebrating love through giving. We explore the joy of giving and take you

through the numerous examples of generosity surrounding us- People, organizations and

movements that are truly making a difference. So come join us and help change the world.

-Avin Thaliath, Editor-in-Chief

Ready, Set, Cook!

-Tanya Nicole Fernandes

The

Department of Hotel

Management, Christ

University recently

conducted the 18th

Annual Inter

Collegiate

competition in

Association with the Taj Group of hotels. The

competition is one of the longest standing

relationships between any academic institution and

corporate chain in the country. On 1st and 2nd

February, 2013, six colleges from across the country

came together to

compete in a

gastronomically

nerve wracking and

time crunching

competion unlike

any other. Spread

over a period of two

days the competition

covered various dimensions, from a live barbeque to

an elaborate 4 course menu, participants were also

tested on their culinary intelligence and kitchen

aptitude through an intensive case study and a

compelling quiz. The participants successfully

corroborated to create extraordinary culinary

delicacies like barbequed sushi. Their creations

were judged by an esteem panel that included Chef

Ramasamy Selvaraju, Executive Chef, Vivanta by

Taj and Chef Naren Thimmaiah, Executive Chef,

Taj Gateway. The competition truly encompassed

the caption of the

famous poet, George

Beranrd Shaw, “there is

no greater love, than

the love of food”.

Work Smarter! Not Harder!

The hospitality profession demands more than the

average hotel management

'Joe'. They require

individuals who think

quick on their feet, are not

afraid to act, are assertive

without being aggressive

and serve all and slave for

none. That was the exact objective of Christ

University's Annual Hotel Ability Test held on 1st

and 2nd February 2013. 6 colleges, 36 participants

and 7 brain numbing rounds over a period of 2 days

left participants, stumped for words but nonetheless

adrenaline wired for more. Competitions ranged

from Project Management to Press Conference

ensuring individuals were challenged in every

dimension. With judges belonging to various

backgrounds- entrepreneurs, hotel directors,

journalists and research specialists, the competition

was comprehensive and a sneak- peek into the ever

galomorous world of a Hotel Manager! It was a

great learning and value addition experience unlike

any other. To tougher competitons and challenging

opportunities, until 2014!

Helping the Helpless: A story about

superhero Chef Narayanan Krishnan

-Anahita Girish

Narayanan Krishnan, an award winning chef from

the Taj Hotels faced a life-changing situation in

2002. The talented chef from Madurai was

shortlisted to run a 5 star restaurant in Switzerland;

however, his fate changed when he came across a

disturbing incident on the streets. He came across a

weak, frail man lying on a sidewalk, consuming his

own feces. He then stopped him, helped him up and

brought him whatever food he could find from a

nearby restaurant. The tears that filled the poor

man‟s eyes are what changed Chef Krishnan‟s life

entirely.

In 2003, Mr Krishnan quit the Taj Hotels and set up

the Akshaya Trust. The Trust is aimed at “helping

the helpless, the homeless, sick, elderly, mentally ill

and destitute in Madurai, India”.

The main feature of the Akshaya Trust is the

Feeding Program which is what spearheaded the

movement. 450 people are provided with 3

nutritious meals a day, prepared in the Akshaya

kitchen by people with very basic equipment but

large hearts. High levels of quality control are

maintained while picking ingredients from local

markets. The menu consists of simple traditional

food that is high in nutrition. Examples include

Monthly

Chro

nicles

Idlis, Pongal, Oothappam, Biryani, Roti and

Sambar.

After a successful start with the Feeding Program,

the Akshaya Trust came up with a second

initiative that is almost complete. They began

building the Akshaya Home, a free housing

complex equipped with medical, catering and

recreational facilities.

Narayanan Krishnan has become a small town

hero ever since he fed his first meal back in 2002.

In 2010, he was placed in CNN‟s Top Ten Heroes.

Although his character is being slightly

glamourized in the form of the Malayalam movie

„Ustad Hotel‟, his personality remains unchanged.

He remains a dedicated, humble chef who simply

utilized his skills in order to give back to society.

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narayanan_Krishnan

http://www.akshayatrust.org/

Giving till it hurts

-Sagi Krishna Prasad

If most of us are Enjoying our Comforts and

our free space today, it is because there is

somebody who is giving till it hurts. While

Opening up of the Economy has created lots of

opportunities and riches for many, it has also

worked against a large population and increased the

disparities, making the poor poorer. If we are well

off - isn‟t it undeservingly so, while the poor and

the underserved are forced to give their labor and

lives. While the poor consume little, the well off

care little and consume a disproportionate amount

of the resources, and have more aspirations only for

themselves.

Nevertheless there are many voluntary

organizations who are dedicated to make a

difference to lives of these underserved and work

for a more equitable and caring society. Many

educated also have given up on their careers and

chosen this path. Rang De is one such organization,

where a couple, Ram and Smita, who happens to be

an alumni of Christ University gave up their young

budding career in the UK, and chose instead to

follow their Calling and challenge of serving the

needy.

Rangde.org is operating in the Innovative Social

Investment space to empower the underserved.

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a

day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a

lifetime. And this paradigm is true of Rang De‟s

work. By providing micro-investments of Rs.10-

15,000/- at very affordable interest rates to rural

entrepreneurs, they are enabling successful self-

employment for families, and helping them stand on

their own feet.

While Rang De facilitates this giant work we

need to be the social investors, and be the cogs for

this giant wheel. Unlike a donation, here we make a

social Investment say a Rs.5,000-10,000/- by

shifting it from our SB a/c in our Bank, to our Rang

De a/c. And unlike a donation, this amount remains

against our a/c and is possible to withdraw at a later

date if we wish. Meanwhile we can see our small

investment touching many lives providing

livelihood to families. Everything is transparent and

online, you can track everything.

Money is the easier part where most of us

can contribute our mite. There is a huge amount of

field work - identifying the beneficiaries, disbursals,

collecting the monthly installments, crediting back

to our a\c‟s non-stop, which Rang De manages.

Perhaps all of us may not give till it hurts, but some

like Rang De do it lovingly. And a million or a

billion small and consistent contributions and

support can make things happen and sustain what a

thousand large contributions cannot.

Corporate social responsibility – CSR, has

become a very important agenda the world over, for

a more equitable and sustainable world. But

Corporates are also made of individuals, and it

should begin with the individual mindset and action,

charity should begin at home.

Perhaps the security and common facilities

and amenities that we as a whole can enjoy from a

more equitable and wholly developed, law abiding

and caring society is vastly greater than only

individual prosperity and self-obsession.

There is need for the parents, children and

youngsters to prod each other to contribute their

mite and might towards a more Equitable, Caring

and Responsible society. And educational

institutions can perhaps act as catalysts in

sensitizing and engaging the parents and children in

a contributing journey.

Perhaps educational institutions can devise

innovative ways to enable parents to monetarily

contribute to one of a set of Organizations chosen

by the Institution. Apart from monetary

engagement, there need to be 3-4 annual occasions

where the children and parents spend a few hours

with the concerned organization and its activities.

This exposure and experience will give impetus for

the people to be more engaged with Giving and

Caring and set the ball rolling. Otherwise, while we

find all the money and somehow the time for our

own extravaganzas and socializing, we never come

around when it comes to voluntary contribution

even when we want to. It is time families learn the

Joy of Giving and Sharing together to empower the

needy, and consistently so for a more Happy,

Secure and Safe world, rather than be lost in a self-

obsessive rat race.

SOURCES: www.rangde.org

Gif-tiv-ism

-Amit Srikumar

Gif-tiv-ism, this was what was on the

projector screen when we showed up at Audi on a

fine Monday morning, we were told that Mr.Nipun

Mehta would be speaking to us on a topic but what

he told us that morning were real-life incidents that

brought in a whole new perspective to us about the

concept of generosity. “Gif-tiv-ism” is simply

defined as the practice of radically generous acts

that change the world.

Story of Impossible 4-minute-mile:

In May 1954, on an Oxford track, Bannister

shattered this barrier, running the mile in 3

minutes 59.4 seconds. Two months later, in

Finland, Bannister's "miracle mile" was again broken

by Australian rival John Landy, who achieved a

time of 3 minutes 56 seconds. Within three years,

16 other runners had also broken this record.

This story is a simple example of how an

impossible idea could be changed to reality by

establishing the fact that it can be accomplished by

setting up values for yourself.

Gif-tiv-ism is based on three core values:

Be Volunteer/ Run – It won‟t scale.

Don‟t Fundraise – It won‟t sustain.

Focus on Small Acts – It won‟t be effective.

It also has 4 shifts:

Consumption to Contribution – A newly

introduced concept called “Smile Cards”

were brought up where the individual would

be a given a card at the end of their meal

and they are told that all expenses incurred

by them are taken care of by an anonymous

individual and all they want in return is that

they repay the favour by passing on an act

of goodwill. This creates a cycle of

contribution.

Transaction to Trust – Karma Kitchen was a

program recently held in Bangalore where

the bill for the food consumed by an

individual was paid for by an anonymous

benefactor and the guest was only required

to pay an amount they felt would cover the

cost of another individual‟s meal. This

builds a level of trust and promotes the idea

of goodwill.

Isolation to Community – Wednesday

Meditation; Mr.Mehta told us a a real-life

story regarding his family where his parents

would invite individuals randomly to come

and meditate with them on Wednesday and

after this session they would be provided

lunch as well. This built a feeling of

community among these individuals and

shows them that people care about them.

Scarcity to Abundance – This is the usage of

assets that are gravely underestimated. Eg:

Social Capital, Synergistic Capital & Subtle

Capital. They created blogs and social

domains where people could post ideas,

methods and stories regarding what they

have done to spread their generosity.

“You give but little when you give off your

possessions. It is when you give off yourself that

you truly give.”

― Kahlil Gibran

Seva Café

- Karan Nagpal

Seva Café is an experiment in the shared joy

that comes from humble giving and selfless service.

The wholesome meals are cooked and served with

love by volunteers and offered to our guests as a

genuine gift, paid for in full by previous guests. The

concept is similar to the Karma Kitchen recently

held in Bangalore.

It basically applies the act of the joy of giving,

which helps the experiment thrive. It begins with a

single gift: first given, then received... multiplied,

and given again, in a growing chain of kindness and

care. This Circle of Giving is what that leaves an

individual feeling more nourished, and inspired to

carry the experiment forward.

All costs and income are made transparent, and

100% of any profits are used to support social

service projects .

Entrepreneurs’ Corner

Photobug Living in a “Hole” might not

be so bad afterall! Daspark

Hotel, Austria offers luxurious

albeit unconventional accomodation in the lap of

Nature.

Editor-in-chief

Avin Thaliath

Conceptualized and Designed by

Bryan John Fernandes

C Rahila Sahrish

Editorial Team

Avin Thaliath

Tanya Nicole Fernandes

C Rahila Sahrish

Mayank Agarwal

Keerthan John Noble

Vishal Bose

Aravind Varghese

Anahita Girish

Vishwas Badami

Mahira Alvares

Angelina Maben

Bryan John Fernandes

Karan Nagpal

Srujana Sagi

Contact us at:

Christ University, Hosur Road

Bangalore— 560029

Karnataka India

Phone Numbers: +91.80.4012.9100

+91.80.4012.9600

Fax: +91.80.4012.9000

Email: akshar@bhm.christuniveristy.in

Website: www.christuniversity.in

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