IIT grad Sourabh Sarkar’s Foundation teaches you how to balance life and work
At first look, he reminds you of the Rancho of 3 Idiots. Get to know him a bit better and the similarity becomes more pronounced. Dressed in a khadi shirt and capris, the slightly-built and youthful Sourabh J Sarkar completes the reel life picture of the man who has taken upon himself to bring about a revolution in education.
He introduces himself as a karmyogi, an integral educationist and a social entrepreneur. Seated at his workstation — a cushioned mat on the floor of his ‘ashram’ —with a laptop placed on a low wooden table and Sufi music playing in the background, Sarkar shares his vision. “What we need is an education system that is relevant, holistic, balanced and inclusive, with no restrictions on access. A process that makes learning and growing a life-long adventure,” says the 42-year-old.
A chemical engineer from IIT Kharagpur, Sarkar says he has followed his passion to use technology and interactive multimedia to make education fun. After a master’s degree in film and television from Syracuse University, Sarkar returned to India in 1995 to develop tools to improve the effectiveness and reach of education.
An association with American contemporary thinker Ken Wilber changed the course of his life. “Having developed effective tools for learning, I realised I had a bigger responsibility — to know what to teach. It was like having high-tech weapons in my hands,” smiles Sarkar. Based on Wilber’s Integral Theory, which allows science and spirituality, modernity and tradition, contemplative Hinduism and Christianity, Islam and Sufism to co-exist, Sarkar set up the KarmYog Foundation. The idea, he says, is to combine the integral wisdom of the modern West with the eternal values of karmyog and apply them in the context of the 21st century. The ultimate goal is to bring about a balance in people’s professional and personal lives. “For, these are the two things that usually break us apart,” says Sarkar.
The Foundation stands on three pillars: KarmYog Ashram, KarmYog Academy and KarmYog Ventures. The ashram at Salt Lake — where Sarkar lives with his octogenarian parents, wife and two children — is based on the concept of the gurukul. It runs initiatives like suprabhaat (morning prayers and yoga), aaharika (langar or community lunch) and sevabhyas (where education material is distributed among rural children).
The academy harnesses the power of technology and media to provide low-cost education. The focus is on fitness, performing arts, vocational training and curriculum support (to help students perform better). The foundation has tied up with stalwarts for various programmes. For example, Sangeet Natak Akademi awardee Probir Guha would be part of The Theatre Lab, a unique initiative which includes special applied-theatre courses for effective communication and conflict resolution at home, work and in class. Another initiative, AV Savvy, uses the expertise of filmmaker Shyam Benegal to develop an audio-visual literacy programme. There is also the ‘Fit for Life’ vipasana course.
KarmYog Ventures, meanwhile, is a series of innovative knowledge-based businesses. The flagship company, Omnivera Learning Solutions, offers cost-effective technology and content development services for education and training. Sarkar says the venture has a list of clients across four continents like FedEx, Integral Institute (Colorado), International Telecom Union (Geneva), AliveWorld (New Zealand), and General Motors. Among the domestic ones are ITC, Tata Steel, BPCL, HLL, Exide, Indian Oil and Asian Paints.
Sarkar follows a rather extreme lifestyle. For the last three years, he has been living on raw food, fruits and vegetables; he sleeps on the floor, wears khadi and homeschools his children. Yet, he says he is not divorced from society. “We love going to the movies. At times, we go to the mall and also look forward to holidays,” he says. His wife Reena nods, “I too believe now that this is the way to live.”
[Prakriti Prasad is a Kolkata-based freelance writer]
