ABU DHABI // When K Muraleedharan was a teenager, he walked to school and saved the money his dad gave him for the bus.
This taught the Indian businessman the value of money and the responsibility of managing it.
“When I was young in my village, I had noticed my father used to give money every day to beggars. But I was not happy to see this,” said Mr Muraleedharan, 58, the managing director of the Southern Franchise Company group of firms in the UAE and the British Virgin Islands.
“My father used to say: ‘God wants to test us to show if we are generous towards those who are unfortunate’.
“Whatever I am today is because of my father.”
When he was 20, the native of Kerala moved to Dubai to work as an accountant. Mr Muraleedharan, who has two daughters and a son, now lives in Abu Dhabi after emigrating to the UAE in 1976.
His company owns a hotel and several restaurants and fast-food outlets, including the India Palace restaurant chain in Abu Dhabi.
Through his Muralya Foundation, Mr Muraleedharan helps thousands of people.
The foundation aids orphanages, schools, medical centres and works for the welfare of people in India and the UAE.
For example, it funds two orphanages in India which have about 850 destitute youngsters each. They receive free education, food and shelter.
The businessman said when his children were younger, they did not understand why he gave money to the poor.
“When they see me giving money to the poor, they cursed and said: ‘every time they [the poor] come to collect money and tell false stories of their sufferings’.”
So Mr Muraleedharan decided to show them why he did so and sent his daughter, Radhika, then 10, and her brother, Rohit, then 12, to one of the orphanages.
“The orphanage was 50 kilometres from my house and my children were very hesitant to go,” he said.
“I asked my driver to drop them at the orphanage.
“Give them the same food, which you serve to all [the orphans] there and they are going to stay there for three to four days,” Mr Muraleedharan told the orphanage managers.
“When they returned, their attitude was entirely different and they felt fortunate.
“My father would always say that poor people are God’s messengers.”
Last month, Mr Muraleedharan was honoured for his humanitarian work by the India Social and Cultural Centre in Abu Dhabi.
He has spent decades in the UAE building a successful business career but has never forgotten his roots in Kerala and the village he came from, Anchal, which is about 60 kilometres from the state capital Trivandrum.
His foundation’s work includes helping needy people in 19 districts close to his village and provides funds for 25 schools.
It supports a centre for people with sight and hearing disabilities, and a day-care centre for 200 elderly people.
Muralya also helps finance Care and Share International, which provides free surgeries to more than 100 children a year.
“In the Emirates, mostly we help prisoners, those who are granted an amnesty and all Indian social and cultural centres in the UAE,” said Mr Muraleedharan.
He also asked an Abu Dhabi university to sponsor two deserving students.
The philanthropist supports UAE handicrafts from the General Women’s Union as well, and promotes UAE history and identity at all India Palace restaurants.
“My father told us that you are only the custodian of money, it doesn’t belong to you,” he said.
“That’s the way we have been brought up, so we know the value of money and the grief of those who have nothing.”
anwar@thenational.ae