GODS OWN KITCHEN
The inspiring story of Akshaya Patra a social enterprise run by monks and CEOs
Providing mid-day meals to 1.6 million schoolchildren every day
westland ltd
61, II Floor, Silverline Building, Alapakkam Main Road, Maduravoyal, Chennai 600095
93, I Floor, Shamlal Road, Daryaganj, New Delhi 110002
First e-pub edition: 2017
First published by westland ltd 2017
Copyright Rashmi Bansal 2017
978-93-85724-84-8
All rights reserved
Design by Haitenlo Semy
All photos used in this book with the permission of Akshaya Patra Foundation
Photo of the Golden Temple on Nivedita Bansal
Disclaimer
Due care and diligence has been taken while editing and printing the book, neither the Author, Publisher nor the Printer of the book hold any responsibility for any mistake that may have crept in inadvertently. Westland Ltd, the Publisher and the printers will be free from any liability for damages and losses of any nature arising from or related to the content. All disputes are subject to the jurisdiction of competent courts in Chennai.
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, circulated, and no reproduction in any form, in whole or in part (except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews) may be made without written permission of the publishers.
Dedicated to
My dear friend Aneeta
For being an akshaya patra
With open heart and open home
CONTENTS
My first visit to an ISKCON temple was when I was eight years old, in Los Angeles. I remember my father buying a thick book with a colourful illustration on the cover. One of the many written by A C Bhaktivedanta Srila Prabhupada.
But more than that, I remember there was prasadam , perhaps a laddoo . In fact, my brain automatically associates ISKCON with food. And blessings.
For, every year, I receive a small packet of kaju and kishmish exactly on my birthday. Thanks to a very small donation made at ISKCON some 20 years ago.
This association was further strengthened when I first met Madhu Pandit Prabhu in ISKCON Bangalore in December, 2010. I had heard about their mid-day meal program and wanted to know more.
Subsequently, I wrote a chapter on the Akshaya Patra Foundation in my book I Have a Dream, which was about social entrepreneurs.
The real aha moment was when I visited Akshaya Patras Hubli kitchen. It was an amazing amalgamation of technology and true dedication to a cause. To feed 1 lakh children a piping hot, nutritious meal every day, day after day is something to be seen, to be admired and learnt from.
And so, I embarked on this journey of writing a book. My instinct is always to tell the story of the people their minds, their motivations, the many problems they faced.
What I learnt is that no task one undertakes no matter how noble is without obstacles.
That obstacles can be overcome, when the mind is clear and the heart has faith.
What we have today is a crisis of faith. No faith in the government, or in institutions, no faith in ourselves.
We offer bribes even to God Here, take this rupee-note, grant my wish!
Rarely do we feel thankful, or filled with abundance. Little realising what it really is to not have. To not have a good breakfast before school, or mummy ka tiffin for lunch. Let alone the means to order from Zomato or glug coffee in Starbucks.
Writing this book opened my eyes to what hunger feels like. It is horrible and unacceptable and inhumane.
Let us open our hearts, our minds and our wallets to eradicate hunger from this country. Students and CEOs, swamis and socialites we can do this together.
Love is limitless and it is the key. Be generous, be kind, be happy, be free.
My heartfelt gratitude, affection and regard to Niyati Patel for standing beside me like a rock through the 21-month journey of writing this book. The research took us from Baran to Bhubaneshwar and generated voluminous transcriptions.
Together, we sifted through and made sense of the material. Fact-checked. Double-checked. Wrote and rewrote. Until we were fully and completely satisfied.
This journey would not have been possible without the support of so many within Akshaya Patra, who gladly and freely shared their experiences. In particular, Shridhar Venkat, who was always just a phone call away.
Chanchalapathi Dasa, for not only sharing with me this story. But the essence of the Bhagavad Gita .
Thank you to Usha Gururaj for help in liaison and coordination.
To Bharati Ghanshyam for initiating this project. Thank you to the team at Westland Gautam Padmanabhan, Deepthi Talwar, Karthik Venkatesh, Krishnakumar, Satish Sundaram, Jayanthi & team. For everything.
To Kanick Raj, for his fantastic cover concept and photography. Haitenlo Semy for the clean and crisp layout of this book.
To all the dedicated souls who did the transcription of interviews. And Sheetal Shinde, for organising and spiral-binding them!
My friend Ravish Kumar for reading the draft and providing valuable feedback.
To my mentor and guide Sunil Handa for constantly reminding me Focus!
To my parents, to Yatin, dear Nivedita, and my life-line, Lata.
To Maya who reminds me that love comes in many different forms; this one has four legs.
And finally, Divine Intervention in the form of a fracture. A blessing in disguise, for it forced me to put all else aside and sit in one place. Writing, writing and only writing.
Hare Krishna .
Founders: The spiritualists and capitalists who came together for a cause.
1. Madhu Pandit Dasa: President, ISKCON Bangalore
2. Mohandas Pai: then CFO of Infosys
3. Chanchalapathi Dasa: Vice-President, ISKCON Bangalore
4. Abhay Jain: businessman and childhood friend of Pai
Trustees: The socially-minded professionals who joined the Akshaya Patra board.
1. Ramadas Kamath: Mohans trusted colleague from Infosys
2. Raj Kondur: Harvard Business School graduate, venture capitalist
3. V Balakrishnan: then VP, Finance Infosys
4. Desh Deshpande: serial entrepreneur from Boston, USA
5. Ravindra Chamaria: IT infrastructure developer from Kolkata
The A Team: The monks who started the first Akshaya Patra kitchen in Bangalore.
1. Venu Vadana Dasa: operations, logistics
2. Vikram Krishna: design, strategy
3. Chitranga Chaitanya Dasa: program management
Start Up Kitchen Crew: The monks who set up new kitchens across India.
1. Vyompada Dasa & Suvyakta Narasimha Dasa: Vrindavan
2. Ratnangada Govinda Dasa: Jaipur & Baran
3. Yuddhisthira Krishna Dasa & Rajiv Lochana Dasa: Bellary & Hubli
4. Achyutha Krishna Dasa & Panchratna Dasa: Puri, Bhubaneswar, Nayagarh & Rourkela
5. Jaganmohan Dasa: Ahmedabad, Vadodara & Surat
6. Janardhana Dasa: Bhilai & Guwahati
7. Vamshidhara Dasa & Mahavishnu Dasa: Vijayawada
The Professionals: The team who took the organisation to the next level.
1. Shridhar Venkat: Akshaya Patras first CEO
2. T S Ramaswamy: Head of Finance
3. Rama Prakash: first professional marketing manager
4. Madhu Sridhar: first CEO of Akshaya Patra USA
5. Muralidhar Pundla: GM (process excellence)
6. Dipika Khaitan: Executive Director, Akshaya Patra UK
