From boardrooms to classrooms: one founder’s journey powering 10,000+ learners

A quiet but powerful education story is unfolding in India—one that began with a small group of children and grew into a large, structured effort to keep learning within reach for families that often have to choose between daily needs and school.

At the centre of this journey is Kushal Raj Chakravorty, founder of the Lotus Petal Foundation, who stepped away from a long global corporate career to focus on education for underprivileged children. The organisation’s learning programmes have reached 10,000+ children, according to reporting by *The Better India*.

When education is a privilege, not a certainty For Ashish Kumar, education was never something to be taken for granted. He grew up with his family of six in a single rented room. His father worked as a carpenter, and expenses had to be carefully planned each month. Some months, Ashish says, were harder than others.

“There were times when I felt I might have to stop studying,” he recalls. “We were just trying to manage daily life.”

His experience reflects a reality many Indian families know too well: a child may have the desire to study, but that alone does not secure schooling. Fees, books, time, encouragement, and stability at home all matter. When any one of these slips, children can fall behind quickly—and catching up becomes difficult.

This is where supportive systems can make the difference. The idea behind the Lotus Petal Foundation, as described in the source report, is built on a simple insight: children often don’t drop out because they lack dreams; they drop out because they don’t have enough support to hold on to those dreams.

A career built on scale—and redirected with purpose Chakravorty’s early life looked very different. He grew up in Ranchi in a home where education and consistency were assured. He studied at St Xavier’s and went on to pursue electrical and electronics engineering at BIT Mesra, graduating in 1996. The same year, he started his career at HCL.

He later completed an MBA from IIM Lucknow and, by the late 1990s, was firmly established in the corporate world. His professional journey included roles at BPL and Amway, and then IKEA from 2005, where he worked in global roles for over a decade.

Those years offered him exposure to how large organisations operate—how teams are built, how processes are designed, and how systems can be scaled. While the source article positions this as corporate success, it also suggests that these skills became valuable when applied to social impact.

Instead of remaining within boardrooms and international assignments, Chakravorty chose to invest his time and experience in education at the grassroots. The work began modestly—teaching a small group of children—and gradually evolved into a larger initiative through the Lotus Petal Foundation.

Building learning pathways for thousands The growth from teaching six children to reaching 10,000+ learners stands out not only for its scale, but for what it represents: a practical pathway for children who may otherwise lose momentum due to circumstances beyond their control.

In many under-resourced households, the barriers to education are rarely about talent. They are about affordability, access, and continuity. When families face uncertainty—rent, food, medical expenses—school can become an unstable commitment. Programmes that reduce friction, offer learning support, and keep children engaged can help families stay the course.

The story also underlines a broader lesson for India’s development journey: social progress is not just about intent, but about dependable systems—especially in education. When individuals with experience in running large-scale operations bring that thinking to community needs, outcomes can expand faster and more sustainably.

**Why it matters:** Stories like this show how combining professional skills with social purpose can widen access to education—helping more children stay in school, build confidence, and move towards stable futures.