Awards and accolades for Sri Krishna Sweets

Three prestigious awards from the United States were conferred on M Krishnan and M Murali of Sri Krishna Sweets for their pursuit of excellence in business and their following of Corporate Social Responsibility that promoted Tamil culture, language and fine arts.

It was a glittering function at the Vani Mahal yesterday that saw eminent personalities showering praise and blessings on the siblings and a large gathering of social celebrities, including director K Balachander, film producer AVM Saravanan, industrialist Nalli Kuppusamy Chetty and Kamala theatre owner V N Chidambaram, among others, witnessing the awards ceremony.

Also, the event marked the launch of Southern Indian Chapter of Indian American Business Promotion Council (IABPC), a group that strived for joint ventures and foster business relations between the two countries. IABPC at its annual convention in New York held recently had bestowed the duo the Best Business Person of the Year Award which was presented by the Governor Surjit Singh Barnala at the function yesterday. While the Federation of Tamil Sangams of North America (FETNA) presented the Award of Excellence to Murali and Krishnan for their stellar role in promoting Tamil language, culture, music, fine arts, heritage and spirituality, David T Hopper, the US Consul General for South India, handed over Recognition Certificate to the brothers for their commitment to quality and excellence in business acumen.

'May their sweet service to the society continue forever,' wished the Governor in his keynote address. Expressing happiness over the launch of Southern Indian Chapter of IABPC, he said the rapid progress of knowledge-based industries in Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad would lead to economic benefits like more jobs and income growth. 'The success of knowledge-based industries will open avenues for many others sectors of the Indian economy. With India's focus on cost, quality, reliability, speed and flexibility, offshore services continue to grow, accounting for billions of dollars in overseas trade,' he explained.

With advanced IT skills and English proficiency, the Indian workforce could offer Americans high quality service at low cost and hence, cooperation in this segment could yield significant benefits to both countries, he said.

Hopper said the successes of Indian-Americans have been 'phenomenal' as the community of late was enjoying rising economic and political clout with sound education, professional standing and growing income levels. 'Though Indian restaurants are increasing with the popularity of their cuisines on the rise, Tamils have to take the initiative to spread their delicious and healthy food across America and to make it flourish in restaurants,' he opined.

Sri Krishna Sweets was synonymous with genuine Tamil food and the enterprise was known to promote Tamil arts and culture wherever they establish presence, he felt.

Former CBI Director D R Kaarthikeyan recalled that Mahadeva Iyer began SKS as a humble outlet in 1948 at Bazaar Street in Coimbatore and took another 30 years to set up a second branch. 'Now, his two sons, Krishnan and Murali within a span of decade had expanded SKS into 50 branches employing 2,000 people across Tamilnadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. Recently, the 50th branch was opened at Dubai too,' he said.

To cite the dedication and professional spirit of the duo, he said SKS had delivered 17.5 tonnes of Mysurpa (sweet delicacy) at a golden jubilee fete of BHEL in Bangalore in record time, earning the praise of everyone.

Prakash M Swami, executive director, IABPC, said as part of social responsibility Murali has been organising events for orphans and destitute children in which they were treated and lavished with 5-star food and delicacies.

'When educated and cultured people like Murali and Krishnan foray into sweet business that profession grows in public esteem,' said A Ramdas Rao, president, Chennai Hotels Association.

If one thought of Chennai, then the sweet taste of Mysurpa ranked top in the culinary choice of an outsider, averred Hiren Shah, vice-chairman, Indo-American Chamber of Commerce.

In his poetic address, lyricist Vairamuthu said the overall quality of life in Chennai has risen by few notches with the advent of SKS. Murali's abiding worship of Lord Ganesha, besides reverence to his father, had seen his enterprise grow in stature, he observed.

In his acceptance speech, Krishnan said the three awards were the fruits of the penance of 'our ancestors.'

Dedicating all the felicitations and blessings to his father, customers and the staff, he said it was a precious moment for Sri Krishna Sweets for being honoured by IABPC, FETNA and US government.

Shanthi Radhakrishnan, regional director, IABPC, Detroit, in her vote of thanks asked the siblings to expand their presence in the US and promote Tamil arts and culture in a big way in that continent.

Courtesy : News Today Net