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Chennai
caterer follows Tony Blair, gets US fellowship
Saturday, October 02, 2010 03:03:51 PM,
IANS
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Chennai:
A roadside idli seller’s son here, who made it big with his food
catering business, has been selected for a one-month US fellowship
programme which was earlier attended by former British prime
minister Tony Blair.
E. Sharath Babu, the 30-year-old BITS-Pilani and an IIM-Ahmedabad
graduate, is the only entrepreneur out of the four Indians
selected for the Legislative Fellowship Programme organised by the
US State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs,
Youth Division.
The programme was also earlier attended by Nobel Prize winner and
founder of Grameen Bank Muhammad Yunnus and several other global
leaders.
As many as “24 persons have been selected across the world to
participate in the progamme. I got the opportunity to participate
in the programme last year also, but I was contesting the Lok
Sabha elections and also had to manage the business, so I declined
the offer”, the budding politician told IANS.
Babu took to entrepreneurship in 2006 with his Foodking Catering
Services which is into the institutional (industrial, corporate
and educational) catering segment.
On Saturday, he was busy making last-minute arrangements here for
campaign to raise awareness about hunger in the country and also
call Oct 10 a Hunger Free Day.
Babu said he wants to change the Tamil adage ‘pasi vandal pathum
parandhu pogum’ (when hunger comes, all the 10 values would fly)
to ‘pathu vanthal pasi parandhu pogum’ (on Oct 10, hunger will
fly).”
“On 10.10.10 the Hungerfree India Foundation will feed around
15,000 children in 50 orphanages across the country with special
food,” he said.
“I have experienced what special food means. In the slum where I
lived as a kid, a Brahmin family used to feed around 70 poor kids
on every full moon day. After having that tasty food, we would be
counting the days for the next full moon day,” Babu recalled.
Queried about his decision to join DMDK party floated by
actor-politician Vijaykanth, he said: “As an independent candidate
in the Lok Sabha polls, I got around 16,000 votes. These voters
want me to continue in politics. While dynastic rule prevails in
other parties, I found DMDK to be different.”
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