Story:
Mr.Kalayanasundaram worked as a Librarian for 30 years. Every month in his 30 year experience (service), he donated his entire salary to help the needy. He worked as a server in a hotel to meet his needs. He donated even his pension amount of about ten lakh rupees to the needy.
He is the first person in the world to spend the entire earnings for a social cause. In recognition to his service, United Nations Organisation adjudged him as one of the Outstanding People of the 20th Century.. An American organisation honored him with the ‘Man of the Millennium’ award. He received a sum of Rs 30 cores as part of this award which he distributed entirely for the needy as usual.
Moved by his passion to help others, Super Star Rajinikanth adopted him as his father. He still stays as a bachelor and dedicated his entire life for serving the society.
We all Indians should be Proud. UNO has honored him but we Indians don’t even know that such a personality exist amongst us.
At least have the courtesy to pass this on and on till the whole world comes to know about this Great Good Samaritan.
Man of the Millennium…..
Hat’s off Kalayanasundaram.. We Indians are extremely proud of you and proudly say “Even This, Happens Only In India”
Analysis:
The message talks about Mr. P. Kalyanasundaram, his selfless charity and social service, claiming that he has won international awards like the ‘Man of the Millennium’ awarded by an American organization and he has even donated his entire salary to help the needy. The social service, recognition and awards attributed to Mr. P. Kalyanasundaram are facts, but it was after donating part of his salary for few years that he decided to donate his entire salary for charity.
Kalyanasundaram was born and brought up in Melakaruvelangulam village located in Tamil Nadu, India. Going through a tough childhood and family life as he lost his father when he was one year old, he became a Gold medalist in Library Science, and further completed his Masters degree (M.A) in Literature and History from the Madras University. Then he joined as a librarian in Kumarkarupa Arts College, Tuticorin and spent 35 years of his life there, also carrying on his social work. He sold his ancestral property and donated the money to the poor, and the one lakh rupees that he received as ‘salary arrears’, he gave it to the district collector right away and asked him to use it for orphans. This way, Kalyanasundaram spent most of his earnings on social work for 45 years, focusing on the upbringing of children. However, as suggested in the story, Kalyanasundaram did not donate his entire salary during his work as a librarian. India Today website indiatoday.intoday.in reports it saying:
Kalyanasundaram began by apportioning his salary as a college librarian: Rs 40 for personal expenses, Rs 100 for children’s welfare. The five-year period soon ended but he did not stop. “I started enjoying social service and that became my life,” he says. At one point, he decided to donate his entire salary and so worked as a waiter in a hotel to meet his needs. For many years, he lived on railway platforms to “personally experience the sufferings of the poor”. The anonymous good Samaritan worked thus for 27 years.
After Kalyanasundaram retired in 1998, he decided to expand his social service and then came his social welfare organization, ‘Paalam’, where he dedicated all his retirement money for its improvement. Paalam links donors and beneficiaries; raising not just money, but anything useful to the needy. Paalam undertakes several social activities like helping education of children, providing medical attention to the needy, organizing blood donation camps and sending the blood samples to hospitals in emergencies, rehabilitation of the elderly, sick, unemployed and handicapped, relief activities during natural calamities like earthquakes and cyclones, and also rendering free counselling for the needy. For these great social causes, he is better known as Paalam Kalyanasundaram.
Awards
For his professional work, selfless charity and social service through Paalam, Kalyanasundaram won several awards. He was chosen as ‘one of the top ten librarians of the world’, and the Union Government of India acclaimed him as ‘The Best Librarian in India’. He was honored as ‘one of the noblest of the world’ by the International Biographical Centre at Cambridge. UNO, United Nations Organization adjudged Kalyanasundaram as one of the Outstanding People of the 20th Century, and an American organization has even chosen him as the ‘Man of the Millennium’, granting him 30 Crore rupees.
Explaining all this, Kalyanasundaram says that he is a bachelor and that his personal needs are meagre. He says that he does not want to own anything, and questions what do we take with us when we leave this planet earth? He likes simple living and high class thinking. Kalyanasundaram describes his granting of the Rs. 30 crores award money to charity as one of the happiest moments in his life, therefore validating that everything is a state of mind.
With so much of social service, selfless charity, noble international awards, but yet very less popularity, Kalyanasundaram is indeed an unsung Man of the Millennium.
Hoax or Fact:
Fact, with some misinformation.
References:
Kalyanasundaram – Simple living, high thinking
Kalyanasundaram – Practising what he preaches
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