Shri Vinayak Lohani, a 25 year old young alumnus of IIT Kharagpur and IIM Calcutta, took a leap of faith opting out of placements for a lucrative corporate career to dedicate his life to those in suffering, following the inspiring spiritual and humanistic ideals of Swami Vivekananda of selfless service. Following the footsteps of Ramakrishna-Vivekananda, he resolved to devote his entire life to serving ‘Divine in Man’ as taught by Swami Vivekananda. In 2003, immediately after passing out of IIM Calcutta, Vinayak started “Parivaar” with just 3 children in a small rented space in the outskirts of Kolkata.
In recognition of his pioneering work in the field of social entrepreneurship, the Government of India has announced that Vinayak Lohani will be honored with the prestigious Padma Shri in 2025. Padma Awards – one of the highest civilian Awards of the country, are conferred in three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. The awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year. Padma Awards are conferred by the President of India at ceremonial functions which are held at Rashtrapati Bhawan usually around March/ April every year. For the year 2025, the President has approved conferment of 139 Padma Awards. The list comprises 7 Padma Vibhushan, 19 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri Awards. 23 of the awardees are women and the list also includes 10 persons from the category of Foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI and 13 Posthumous awardees.
During his time at IIM, Lohani initiated a successful volunteer group, organizing village school visits and health camps. This experience reinforced his belief that people are willing to serve and make an impact if given the opportunity. He reflects, “So, I didn’t participate in the placement process at the end of my course, as my interest had shifted away from academics. Instead, I began visiting various organizations in and outside Kolkata. This exploration phase helped me understand the vast needs in the social sector, which isn’t competitive like the commercial entrepreneurial space. I realized that one doesn’t need a disruptive idea to make a difference, just the willingness to serve where there is a need. I had no grand idea; I was just driven by the desire to do something for society. It was just the spirit of service. So, I started on a small scale with street children, children from red light areas, and other individual cases of crisis. It could be an orphaned child or single mother who is living in very difficult circumstances. That is how Parivaar was born in West Bengal.”
In his early days, when he had no resources, he used to take some lectures for students appearing for Management entrance examinations in order to kickstart his mission and meet the expenses of the set-up, till the level of 15 children at Parivaar. Slowly, his selfless commitment inspired others, and the support began pouring in. By the end of 2004, Parivaar acquired its own land, cementing it for a permanent campus. As its mission gained momentum, dedicated youth joined hands with Lohani, committing their lives to the cause. In 2016, after 14 years of relentless service in West Bengal, he expanded Parivaar’s reach to Madhya Pradesh.
Today “Parivaar” shelters 607 once homeless and destitute children (407 boys and 190 girls) who have found a new foothold, family and a future at Parivaar Ashram. All children receive quality education at Parivaar’s own school, Amar Bharat Vidyapeeth, affiliated with the West Bengal Board of Education. Additionally, over 2,000 children from nearby villages attend its day school program. The institute has developed special methodologies and approaches to accelerate learning whereby illiterate children are able to come abreast of their peer group within a year. As a result the children, despite heavy initial backlog, due to non-exposure to education for the first 8-10 years of life are performing commendably, matching children from more privileged backgrounds and outperforming all governmental and non-governmental organizations working in similar domains.
Vinayak Lohani’s story is a journey of spirit of service and how a single act of compassion can touch several lives.
