People often asked Madhu Pandit — "Why did you leave IIT to become a monk?”
Had he followed the conventional path, Madhu Pandit would have been a big-shot in some large corporation. Instead, he was the ‘CEO’ of a large temple. Guided by his guru A C Bhakrivedanta Srila Prabhupada. Propelled forward by the Divine Plan.
A chance meeting with Mohandas Pai inspired Madhu Pandit to use the spare capacity in the ISKCON kitchen. To start a mid-day meal program for 1500 children, in and around Bangalore. Today, Akshaya Patra is the world’s largest NGO-led mid-day meal program, with 27 kitchens across 11 states. Serving 1.6 million hot lunches to government schools each day.
This is the exciting story of spiritualists and capitalists coming together to launch a unique start-up. And taking it to scale. A ‘Made in India’ success story using the head, the heart, and a whole lot of soul.
About the Author:
Rashmi Bansal is a writer, entrepreneur and youth expert. She is the author of 7 bestselling books on entrepreneurship — Stay Hungry Stay Foolish, Connect the Dots, I Have a Dream, Poor Little Rich Slum, Follow Every Rainbow, Take Me Home and Arise, Awake — which have sold more than a million copies and been translated into 12 languages.
Rashmi is an economics graduate from Sophia College, Mumbai, and an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad.
She can be reached at: www.facebook.com/rashmibansal, www.twitter.com/rashmibansal or mail@rashmibansal.in.
