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Source: The Hindu
Sarath stated “I was born and brought up 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.
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.My mother, according to me, is the most successful entrepreneur.
I did schooling in Kings Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Chennai,graduated in Chemical Engineering from BITS, Pilani and after working for 3 years in Polaris Softwares completed MBA from IIM Ahmedabad.”
The telegraph reported:
Ahmedabad, April 1: From helping his mother sell idlis on Chennai’s streets to starting his own catering business may not sound like a giant leap for a slum kid.
Unless, in between, he graduates from an IIM and turns down a corporate job offer.
When 27-year-old Sarath Babu, a software engineer and MBA, made his choice at this year’s placement on the Ahmedabad B-school campus, he was clear in his mind about two things.
One, he would chart his own course as an entrepreneur and two, he would continue to sell food like his mother Deeparamani, who still vends idlis to pedestrians in Chennai.
“Nobody would have imagined this 20 years ago,” said IIM Ahmedabad chairman N.R. Narayana Murthy, referring both to Sarath’s progress from a slum to the B-school and his rejection of a cushy job to start an unconventional business with little capital.
As he lit a lamp to inaugurate the Foodking Catering Service, Sarath’s firm in Ahmedabad, the Infosys boss, however, suggested how the young man could pay his mother an even more fitting tribute.
Compared with Deeparamani’s customers, Sarath’s usual clients would be somewhat more upscale: BPOs, pharmaceutical firms, multinational companies and college canteens. He says he plans to turn his company into a food chain that will be a “national brand” employing 50,000 people.But Murthy reminded him that millions of poor Indian children, from whose ranks he rose, never go to school let alone B-school and he needed to do his bit for them.
Why don’t you take up the mid-day meal scheme, which can lure underprivileged children to the classroom, the Infosys chief asked.
Sarath’s eyes seemed to moisten. “Sir, I’m happy to tell you that my mother has worked for the Tamil Nadu government’s mid-day meal scheme. She cooked mid-day meals in a nearby school and earned Rs 30 a day. She still sells idli in Chennai. That is how she brought me up and my two sisters and a brother,” he said in an emotional voice.
As the audience erupted in applause, Sarath rang up his 52-year-old mother and introduced her to Murthy.
A proud Deeparamani said she knew her son had declined a well-paying job but she was happy that he had chosen to be a caterer. “At least, he would be feeding people,” the mother said.
Sarath described how he had made it through school with help from a teacher who paid his fees. State government scholarships allowed him to get an engineering degree from BITS, Pilani, after which he worked with a software firm for about two years.
“In the last four decades, such a thing has never happened in IIM Ahmedabad,” institute director Bakul Dholakia declared.
Source: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1060402/asp/nation/story_6046364.asp
Achievements
• Honorary Alumni XLRI, Jamshedpur
• Honorary Rotarian, Dist 3201
Awards
• PEPSI-MTV Youth Icon 2008 (earlier recipients were Mr. Anil Ambani, Rahul Dravid, Shah Rukh Khan, M. S. Dhoni)
• “Example to Youth Award 2008″, CHENNAI.
Other links about Sarath:
http://startupstarters.blogspot.com/2006/10/sarath-babu.html
http://iamchandru.blogspot.com/2006/03/sarath-babu-idly-kadai-iim-ahmedabad.html
http://www.iimaalumni.org/n/front/newsmakers/indexsub.asp?NMID=89
http://www.pagalguy.com/forum/cat-and-related-discussion/14780-know-your-iimite-sarath-babu.html
http://ia.rediff.com/money/2006/aug/31spec.htm
His website: http://sarathbabu.co.in/in/
WE WISH HIM ALL THE BEST
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The Alternative approach of Indian politics
And you thought Indian politics was all about 60-plus politicians whose only aim in life was to die rich and powerful, while at the same time, leave the nation in dire straits? Think again.
An article titled “Neither Left nor Right” appeared in Bangalore Times supplement of the Times of India dated 9th April 2009 (I am trying to find the article online – I will update this post with the permalink if and when I do find it). The article mentions several young-blood parties and organizations which aim to turn Indian politics on its head. They aim to follow an approach which is diametrically opposite to the one being followed currently. In essence, they all envision a corruption-free and equality-centric India – which are the seeds to economic development, safety and general prosperity.
I would say that this approach comes as a whiff of fresh air for those of us who are being fed the stale diet of political parties whose promises and actions will only take the nation down the doomsday highway.
A List of out-of-the-box-thinking political parties:
Here is a list of such new-age parties and organizations, what I have collectively termed as the Alternative Front (although these parties have not come together to actually form a “front” - more about this towards the end of the post). Please do visit the home links of these parties/organizations to know more about their history, mission, agenda and such.
Lok Paritran
Jago PartyBharat Punarnirman Dal (BPD)
Bharatiya Rashtravadi Samanata Party (BRSP)
Professionals Party of India (PPI)
Youth For Equality (not a political party)
JaagoRe (a website which helps people to register to vote)
A cursory glance through these sites reveals a common thread:
Most of them are development-oriented (both urban and rural).
Most of them promise accountability in politics.
Most of them believe that its not the politician – rather its the citizen who is at the centre of governance (both in terms of rights and responsibilities).
Most importantly, most of them shun the divide and rule policies of the current crop of politicians. They envisage a society in which everyone is equal– irrespective of religion, caste, gender, language or any other divisive factor which is currently being exploited.
Not Just more of “Those” Parties!
I know what you are thinking – does this mean we have half-a-dozen more parties to add to the rot which is Indian politics? On the contrary, or so I think (very strongly, if I may add).
In my opinion, these parties are different from the run-of-the-mill political parties we have grown used to. These parties have been formed by highly educated people, and in some cases, by people who have worked at the grass-roots level (albeit in a non-political capacity). Some of them have among their ranks, ex-professionals for whom accountability is the mantra.
I think we should give the this new-age politics a chance to prove its mettle. Some of the parties listed above have contested polls in the past. Some are fielding their candidates in the upcoming Parliamentary elections, including in Bangalore. I urge one and all to go through the web sites of various parties and seriously consider voting for their candidates. This is all the more important as in many constituencies, none of the “conventional” candidates are worth even a single vote!
But Why So Many Parties?
There is one caveat though. If these parties converge in their vision and thought process, then why so many parties? Make no mistake, they are up against behemoths. It is definitely going to be an uphill task to secure even a single Lok Sabha seat. When such is the case, why the fragmentation? Would it not be better if all of these parties came together to fight the might of the conventional parties? Of course, there is bound to be differences of opinion amongst them, but there will be room for all of that down the line.
The need of the hour is for these parties to come together and form an “Alternative Front” (I call it that for lack of a more creative name!). The need of the hour is to give the people of India a dose of this new-age governance model. The need of the hour is to give Indians the hope – that all is not lost, that there are parties with honestly patriotic intentions.
I can promise that once the public sees first hand, the benefits of this model, they will never go back to vote for petty politics. And this is where the beauty of the new model lies – once people get used to all-round development, the competition among the parties will increase – to be more competitive, to give more to the nation, to take the country faster on the path to development!
Hoping, in the near term, that the Alternative Front materializes, and even if it does not, that these alternative parties are successful in winning at least a handful of seats in the upcoming elections.
Hoping, in the longer term, that development and equality become the pillars of Indian politics.
Source: http://www.hopehorizons.in/2009/04/alternative-approach-to-indian-politics.html
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