Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama Narendrapur

Our Genesis

Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, Narendrapur has completed a difficult but eventful period of 58 years. Started in North Calcutta (Pathuriaghata) immediately after the Bengal Famine in 1943, this branch centre of Ramakrishna Mission had a very humble beginning with a small Students’ Home with only three students-poor and orphan-on the rolls.

Very noble, though humble to begin with, were the objectives of the effort. To help the poor and unfortunate manifest the best in them through man-making and character-building education and to alleviate the sufferings of the unfortunate ones removing all caste and creed distinctions were the objectives. Since its shift to its present site in the southern suburbs of Calcutta , near Garia, 16kms from Rajbhavan, in 1957, the Ashrama has been growing into a large educational complex to achieve those objectives in a more meaningful way. The Ashrama grew not only in size but also in its dimensions through the introduction of very many activities to impart “that education by which character is formed, strength of mind is increased, the intellect is expanded and by which one can stand on one’s own feet”. This journey was never smooth. While cooperation came from different quarters to help the Ashrama grow, resistance and non-cooperation also stood in the way of the smooth functioning of the Ashrama in its pursuit of going ahead for the benefit of many. But despite the vicissitudes, the quest for excellence has always been the commonly shared conviction of all the Ashramites. Revered Swami Lokeswaranandaji Maharaj played a pivotal role in giving the present shape to this big institutional complex. Today the Ashrama has more than 2000 scholars and hundreds of workers residing within the 150-acre complex – meadows dotted with flower gardens beside lush green fields, deep mango groves and winding lakes. Coming from all over India , the students speak different languages and profess different religious faiths without any indiscipline whatsoever. Today the excellence of this Ashrama is most eloquently evident in the performance of its students in various public and special examinations.