Our Story

Our Story

As professionals and educators for the past six years, we were constantly perturbed by a singular phenomenon that we were encountering on a daily basis, with most of the urban human life that we were interacting with.

It was segregation; to the minutest level, of all layers of life- of people, of work, of knowledge, of aspirations, of identity and strangely, even of the most basic nuances of life like freedom, joy and self-satisfaction. We felt as if we were a part of this second-hand life, one that neither belongs to us nor others. We were not thinking with our own minds. Unaware of the realities lying right in front of us, we were carried away by the readymade thoughts that others were throwing at us. These second-hand choices fuel segregation. We called them ‘choices’, but were they really our own? In dividing life in as many ways as a mind could imagine, we felt that we were missing out a larger picture. The persistence to build a ‘definition’ for life, was robbing us of the awareness of the true form and beauty of life, as it exists, purely. As we increasingly became conscious of this uncanny phenomenon (compartmentalizing of life) that we were involuntarily a part of, we started reading the dearth of sensitivity around us. Simple aspects of life that needed no further clarity were muddled in the chaos of dead habits. We knew that we were dividing our own ground of existence, by narrow walls and beliefs that were truly not our own. We carry the same spirit in us, yet refuse to accept our own brothers and sisters, branding them by external influence and separating them wrongfully from ourselves.

The more there are lesser sensible thought and actions around us, the deeper is the pit of our troubles, one that we cannot escape from and one that will become our grave. In our urban life, the list of problems faced by simple individuals or massive populations, is huge. Some of these problems are faced directly, on a daily basis like air & sound pollution, vehicular traffic, space overcrowding, usable water, sanitation, lack of social acceptance, domestic violence, religious bias and some grave ones are to be faced in the near future. But on a closer inspection, the root cause behind thousands of these problems is just one- ‘the lack of sensibility, arising from a lack of sensitivity’. Every life form is unique in itself. Human mind tends to create identity, the moment it perceives any physical existence. When we encounter new and unknown layers of life, in the rush to create an identity, we misunderstand uniqueness. Instead of grasping the pure value of these layers, our perception prefers to take a familiar path of pre-defined notions.

As educators, our aspiration is to widen the way we perceive every life form, uniquely, with clarity. Our aspiration is also to rise above the physical reflexes of segmenting and categorizing knowledge and uncover the hidden pattern that links all life form together. Therein lies the key to heightening our sensibility towards a sustainable human society. It is only then, that we can impart pure and true education to younger minds whom we wish to inspire, who can link and bind this society together. This is the very thought that sowed the seed of the initiation of Anokha Jhola Foundation.

The great leaders of our country, including historic figures like Swami Vivekananda, Mahatma Gandhi and contemporaries like Narendra Modi and Jaggi Vasudev, all have inspired us with a pivotal pattern in their personal endeavours- they all have travelled the length and breadth of this great land, to understand our society and the relation of our people with earth .

The ‘Voice of Soil’ initiative is dedicated to the people of India and her great leaders whose spirit lives within us.

Sanjay Ramani

Satabarta Nandy