Who Are we?

The Banyan Shades has been founded with the vision of bringing practical and Indic oriented knowledge to the world. Indic knowledge forms emanate from within the individual, from the lived experiences, and, then, they spirals outward. This is how, we as a people in the Indian Subcontinent, have retained and promoted the values of individual freedom for millenniums. Epistemic tussle has been laid out in front of a huge geo-political entity of India.  India is the largest chunk of what is left of the Indic ethos of the subcontinent. Hence, it is natural for the Indic awakening to begin from this sacred land.

We strongly believe in the power of education and educators. What teachers do essentially is the culturing of human mind and consciousness. Hence, it was regarded as an esteemed profession that entailed shouldering responsibility for the society. The esteem and responsibility came to the teacher after years of inward oriented speculation and self-examination, along with the mastery of a particular craft. The mendicants, who became teachers, often meditated under the Banyan shades. 

The Banyan Shades is a knowledge project that is connected to the depth of the roots of Earth, and reaches the skies for inspiration. 

The project is run by a team of two: Richa Thakur and Abhijit Suresh. 

Richa Thakur is an author, teacher, and a policy researcher. 

Abhijit Suresh is a policy researcher and commentator with deep interest in international geopolitics and social upliftment.