A slum boy who now owns a food industry empire in Chennai - thanks to his
poverty stricken mother who sold idlis on pavements to educate him - was
honoured at a youth conference of the World Bank for his entrepreneurship
and leadership skills.
Sarath Babu Elumalai was among the three youth invited from across the
globe for the Bank's annual flagship event, the Global Youth Conference, to
engage the broader development of community with youth around the world.
The theme of this year's conference was Youth Unemployment: Empowering
Solutions through Innovation and Inclusion.
Convened by youth experts and advocates, the conference was webcast
internally and externally, with online participants from over 20 countries.
Ronan Farrow, advisor on Youth Issues to US Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton addressed the participants. The conference was also webcast
internally and externally, with online participants from over 20 countries.
Sarath Babu told PTI in Jersey City here that at one time he struggled to
continue his school education due to poverty.
His mother who worked as a low grade servant at the State Government
nutritious noon meal scheme project decided to make idlis and sell them in
a pavement shop to educate her son.
Babu did not disappoint her and got admission in merit at BITS-Pilani for a
Chemical Engineering degree and landed in top-notch Indian Institute of
Management-Ahmedabad for an MBA.
Today, the 30-year-old youth who was wallowing in abject poverty in the
prime of his youth, employs around 300 people mostly from the poor strata
of the society and his multi-crore Food King restaurant and catering
business has crossed Chennai and operates in Hyderabad and Jaipur as well.
"I was born and raised in a slum in Madipakkam in Chennai. I have two elder
sisters and two younger brothers and my mother was the sole breadwinner of
the family," Babu told the gathering at the conference moving some of them
into tears.
"It was really tough for my mother to bring up five kids on her meager
salary. She sold Idlis in the mornings, worked for the mid-day meal at the
school during daytime and taught at the adult education programme of the
Indian government, thus doing three different jobs to bring us up and
educate us. We went hungry many a days and I know the impact of hunger,"
After graduating from IIM-A, Babu had setup "Food King" -a food catering
services in 2006 with the vision to offer employment to illiterate and
semi-illiterate people and improve their standard of living.
"I put values ahead of money and power. And I have learnt it the hard way,
rising up from delivering idlis prepared by my mother."
Just to recall I give below the article published by The Hindu dated
02.11.2008.
*Problems are opportunities’ *
* Triumph of will: E. Sarathbabu, founder and CEO, Food King Catering
Services Private Limited *
* Consider problems as opportunities, E.Sarath Babu, one of the youngest
Chief Executive Officers India has ever seen, advises the youngsters.*
*
Born in a slum in Chennai, brought up by a mother earning a pittance
selling idlis, propped up by scholarships, the life of this 28-year-old is
literally and metaphorically one of sweat , blood and tears.
His never-say-die spirit and a loud and clear understanding that there can
be no free lunch helped him pass through the hallowed portals of the BITS
Pilani.
Sweet are the uses of adversity. There can be no better example than Sarath
Babu.
Instead of seeking just a comfortable career as one would normally have
done after a life nothing but of trials and tribulations, he had the moral
courage to choose a path beneficial to the society at large.
“My objective at present is to provide food at affordable rates and also
extend employment to as many as possible”, Mr. Babu tells G.Satyamurty.
When he was hardly 12, he was engaged in some sundry work or other to make
both ends meet. He worked even as a book binder and also as a menial in a
leather shop.
“When I was doing 10th Standard in 1995, there was no electricity at home
and all I could manage was only one and half hours of study at night using
a kerosene lamp. But that made me focus so well that I could mange 1170 out
of 1200 marks in Plus Two".
Thanks to the guidance of a friend, he applied for admission to BITS,
Pilani. “Pawning my sister’s jewel and with the help of a scholarship, I
managed to pursue the studies there”. There too he did emerge with flying
colours. But studying in such a famous institution was initially a “rude
shock” because of the high quality not only in terms of education but also
surroundings and the affluence among the students.
“Till my final year there, my ambition was to get a job.”
He did work for a software company for three years. He was immensely
thankful to the company which retained him despite the Y2K issue. He was
not lured by IIMs or money .His inner urge to do something for the society
goaded him on to start the company called Food King in June 2006.
“Though I was aware that huge volumes of cooked food would be required for
corporates and campuses, initially we started with providing 200 cups of
tea and coffee .This has now grown into 20,000 meals a day.”
As of now he employs 230 people and is operating in Ahmedabad, Hyderabad
and Goa apart from Chennai. He has been permitted to operate even in an IIM.
All that he wants the younger ones to do is “focus” on their dreams and not
to entertain a “ herd mentality”. Success or failure depends on that.
“Don’t waste your time.”
If any one wants to achieve something, he\she should have a correct focus.
He admits that the current syllabus in the country is taken from rest of
the world. Still there are enough ideas available and a lot of innovations
available.
Rural students are certainly a disadvantaged lot because they are not on a
par with the urban youth due to lack of infrastructure. For instance, many
of them do not even have any idea of higher level education institutions
like IITS, IIMS, etc.
What next is the goal for Mr.Babu.
“I want to go in for a franchisee mode. Already we have formed an
association with tier-2 (no branches but a good quality restaurant) and
tier-3 (medium quality and no branches) restaurants. There will be a very
big kitchen that can prepare one lakh to 1.5 lakh meals a day that would
cater to all these outlets. While ensuring quality, the volume will help
bring down the cost as well. The first would be in Chennai and I would like
to expand to other places also.”
*
--
*ஊழையும் உப்பக்கம் காண்பார் உலைவுஇன்றித்
தாழாது உஞற்று பவர். - Thirukkural 620
தளர்ச்சி இல்லாமல் குறைவின்றி முயற்சிப்பவர், ஊழையும் புறங்காட்டி
வென்றுவிடுவார்.
*
* *
****
****
*V a n a k k a m S u b b u *
****
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sometimeonthenet/join>
* *
*வாழிய செந்தமிழ்! வாழ்க நற்றமிழர்!
**வாழிய பாரதமணித் திருநாடு!*
