Suchayan Mandal, Founder, Advaita Bodhi Foundation
It began with a question. Not a big one, not one meant to change the world — but one whispered by a young boy outside a dusty village school in Ghoshpara, just before Durga Pujo in 2021:
“Dada, kaaj nei… sikhe ki hobe?” (There’s no job… what’s the use of learning?)
Three years later, we are planning to build a school where the answer to that question will echo through every corridor, every classroom, and every child:
You learn not just to get a job. You learn to become a better human being.
That school is The Advaita Bodhi School of Tomorrow — a dream gently held together by faith, service, and the quiet teachings of Thakur Sri Ramakrishna — who believed that all paths of love and learning ultimately lead to the Divine within.
A Town That Raised Us
Kalyani town in West Bengal was always a town of contrasts. Developed in the 1950s as a planned township envisioned by Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy, it soon became a hub for education and science. Institutions like Kalyani University, MAKAUT, IISER, and AIIMS stood as pillars of knowledge and modernity.
Yet, beyond the main roads and university walls, were children who didn’t return to school after the lockdown — not because they didn’t want to, but because they couldn’t.
In 2021, post the second lockdown, I started with one goal — to do something for these children. With limited resources, but a heart full of purpose, we began something small — a weekend digital skills camp for older students at Saraswati Trust School, a government-aided school in the rural fringe of Kalyani.
The Ghoshpara Experiment
The headmaster of Saraswati Trust School, Mr. Narayan Mandal, welcomed our idea with warmth. But he had a suggestion: “Why not start with our ex-students? The ones who are 18+, who now need jobs?”
So every weekend, under the tin roof of a schoolroom, we began training youth in digital literacy: emails, cybersecurity, online services, e-governance, and banking. They learned to book a cab, apply for a passport, avoid phishing scams, and open a DigiLocker. For many, this was their first real touch with the digital economy.
Over 200 youth passed through this 8-week course in the first three months. The Vice Chancellor of MAKAUT visited us and said something I won’t forget: “This is what real education looks like — purposeful, urgent, human.”
The Foundation of Purpose
We registered as a non-profit: Advaita Bodhi Foundation — a name that reflects our belief in inner awakening, human dignity, and inclusive learning.
Our next venture was Gopiballavpur, a tribal region once caught in the crossfire of Maoist conflict. With the support of the Backward Classes Welfare Department and Shri Prasenjit Pal, we opened the Jana Pragati Centre — a digital lab where children and women learned to navigate the internet, not just as consumers, but as creators.
We also initiated a humble bee-keeping experiment. With the forest close by, water abundant, and seasonal blooms, the first honey harvest yielded 6 kg — golden and pure. But as Sri Ramakrishna said, “Do not disturb the hive if you want honey,” — we learned that sustainability demands time, patience, and presence. We couldn’t continue it, but that first jar of honey remains a quiet triumph.
Borders, Batik, and Business
In Majdia — a border town touching Bangladesh — we worked with refugee youth, helping them harness digital platforms for commerce. In Birnagar, we partnered with Ushagram, an institute built by Shri Gopal Chakrabarty to support rural women.
Here, artisans who once relied on middlemen now list Batik sarees and handmade products directly on Amazon and Flipkart. Women like Parul Nag and Kakoli Mondal now earn more than ₹ 50,000 (USD 570) a month through e-commerce. Their designs carry not just color, but identity. Their earnings have not made them arrogant — they remain grounded in humility, faith, and service, just like the values we quietly try to uphold through the Foundation.
Feeding Curiosity (and Stomachs)
In December 2023, we took on one of our most emotional missions: Samatat Siksha Niketan, a school for the children of domestic workers and daily wage earners. It had 200 students on paper. But only 40 showed up daily.
Why? They were hungry.
We launched the Chhabi Mandal Nutrition Project — providing fresh, free, nutritious meals every day. Dal, rice, protein, and seasonal vegetables — many of which were grown by the students themselves in the school garden we created with the generous donation of Mrs. Chhabi Mandal in Houston.
Attendance shot up. Children stayed back after class — not just for food, but because the school had started feeling like home. We added three laptops. Children drew on MS Paint, typed their names, and laughed as they used a mouse for the first time.
Now, the School of Tomorrow
All of this was leading somewhere. All of it was preparing us — and the children — for something bigger.
The Advaita Bodhi School of Tomorrow is not just an idea. It is our promise.
It will be an affordable English-medium school, but unlike any that exists in the region.
The school will not just teach from books. It will teach for life.
Imagine walking into a serene, state-of-the-art campus — open skies, sustainable architecture, solar power, and buildings designed to blend nature with learning. Every corner will breathe intention — from rainwater harvesting systems to a soil-based Amphitheatre for storytelling.
At the heart of the school stands a Prayer Room — a space of stillness, with the soft gaze of Thakur Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda, and Maa Sarada watching over. Not gods to fear, but ideals to live by — simplicity, service, and surrender.
Every morning begins here. A short prayer, a moment of silence, followed by music and a reading — sometimes from the Gita, sometimes from a Tagore poem, sometimes from a child’s journal. We believe this small ritual will become the heartbeat of the school.
What Makes Us Different?
Every student will be evaluated across four life-centered pillars:
- Spiritual Depth – through reflection, service, empathy, and mindfulness
- Literary Curiosity – through reading, writing, recitation
- Technological Aptitude – through coding, online safety, and innovation
- Physical and Social Awareness – through games, group tasks, and rural immersions
We’ll take children to nearby farms to learn how rice is grown. They’ll meet potters, carpenters, weavers — and understand the dignity of labour. At the same time, they’ll be industry-ready — skilled in English, AI tools, and critical thinking.
As Sri Ramakrishna often reminded his disciples: “Knowledge and devotion must go hand in hand.” That is our model — knowledge, rooted in values.
This is the Dream
Picture a child — whether from a high-rise apartment in Kalyani or a modest home in Ghoshpara — learning cloud computing in a smart classroom and then spending the afternoon planting saplings in the school garden.
That is the school we are building.
A space where goodness is not taught, but lived.
Where success is not measured by marks, but by manners.
Where children from every background — affluent, middle class, or first-generation learners — grow side by side, learning empathy, excellence, and ethics in equal measure.
Where they become not just professionals, but kind human beings. Not just toppers, but torchbearers.
The Road Ahead
We’ve reached over 5000 lives. But now, we want to build something that outlasts us.
If you’re reading this and feel a quiet stirring — visit us. Support a classroom. Fund a computer. Or just come and sit in our prayer room, where the calm gaze of Thakur Sri Ramakrishna will remind you: every good deed done in silence echoes for generations.
The boy who once asked me, “Sikhe ki hobe?” now works for Dell at one of their service centres in Kolkata as a service technician.
That’s the power of learning.
That’s the light we carry.
And with you, we will build a future worth living in.
One child. One prayer. One act of kindness at a time.
To support the Advaita Bodhi School of Tomorrow:
Dr. Ganesh Mandal – +1 (832) 423-8541
Mr. Suchayan Mandal – +91 9717 431 660
