Balasore Man Revives Gurukul To Shelter, Educate Marginalised Children
Founded in 1999 by Lambadar Dalai, popularly known as Swami Ganeshanand Puri, on his ancestral land, Vivek Bharati Sevasharam has 105 students and 10 teachers.
Published : January 3, 2026 at 1:46 PM IST
Balasore: In modern times, the Gurukul system of education seems to be largely forgotten. However, one such primitive teacher-student interaction method still exists in the Dagarpada area under Khaira block of Odisha's Balasore, where pupils from the forest areas are imparted teachings of religious, cultural, life skills, physical and mental wellbeing.
Vivek Bharati Sevasharam was founded by Lambadar Dalai, popularly known as Swami Ganeshanand Puri, a few days after the 1999 earthquake jolted the region. Inspired by the ideals shown by the 19th-century mystic Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa and his consort Maa Sarda and their Swami Vivekananda, Lambadar renounced worldly pleasures to follow the path of renunciation and set up the sevashram on the ancestral land he got through succession.
The primary objective was to impart knowledge and discipline to children from the marginalised area. However, the establishment is still deprived of government grants and runs with grants from philanthropists. Located amid lush greenery, it has 10 teachers and 105 students. There is a pond in the middle of its premises, with messages of Vivekananda hung in banners everywhere. Alongside, the students are taught animal husbandry as there are 35 cows in the ashram for that purpose.
The children sing bhajanas in the mornings and evenings at the temples of goddess Bharati and Sarada in the ashram premises. While the ashrama administration takes care of their food and accommodation, the students are included in the daily routine. With the chiming of the bells every morning, they gather in a place to read the Gita, followed by gardening, yoga and bhajans. They are taught about the medicinal values of plants in the ashrama complex.
Be it someone's birthday or some special day, well-wishers gather at the ashrama to arrange food, drinks and clothes for the children. In 2017, a person from West Bengal's Kolkata helped with funds for the construction of a two-storey building.
"There are currently 105 children from districts like Gajapati, Ganjam, Jajpur, Bhadrak, Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar, who are taught by 10 teachers. The residential facility is available for Classes I & II, while the school is currently up to eighth grade. The main purpose of our institution is to revive the Gurukul education system. Whether we get government grants or not, we have been running for 26 years. The children wake up at 4:30 am and sleep at 9 pm. During this time, they are engaged in gardening, cow care, study, yoga, music and preparing medicines from various plants in the premises. We get some expenses by selling milk from our cows. People come here on their birthdays and special days to feed the children. Mainly, children from the forest areas are staying here," Lambard said.
Kshiravadi Tanya Behera, a former student, said, "I have been coming here since my childhood. I am currently studying nursing. Whenever I get leave to serve children, I come here to teach them. Gurukuls are the solution to all problems in today's world. They must exist."
Anil Bharat Mallick, a boarder from the Gajapati region, said, "Apart from formal education, we are receiving moral and behavioural lessons. We are taught worship, yagna, bicycle repairing, playing musical instruments, singing, sports, etc. I have learned everything from this ashram to survive in society."
Parthasarathi Das, a businessman from the Sora area who has been helping the ashrama for the past five years, said, "Swamiji is taking care of so many children after working so hard. We find it difficult to take care of even one child. The fact that he has kept so many children is a big deal. Unfortunately, the government is not paying any attention to this."
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