In 2013, Tarak Majumdar arrived in the tea gardens of Jalpaiguri, West Bengal, to work on a livelihood project. What he encountered changed the course of his life. He found communities struggling not only with poverty but also with school dropouts, human trafficking, unemployment, and a severe lack of educational opportunities for young people.
One incident deeply affected him. In a village of around seventy to eighty households, a girl named Benaai Munda had been missing for three years. Nobody had filed a police complaint, and life in the village had simply continued. For Tarak, this reflected a deeper crisis , children growing up without support systems, guidance, or visibility.This moment became the turning point that eventually led to the creation of Himalayan Prayatn (HP), an education initiative working to support tea garden students in North Bengal.
Building Educational Pathways for Tea Garden Youth
Today, more than 780 students from tea garden communities in North Bengal have secured admission to universities such as TISS Mumbai, JNU, Delhi University, Azim Premji University, Visva-Bharati, and Shiv Nadar University. More than 100 alumni are now working with organisations across India.
Through Himalayan Prayatn, Tarak identifies students with potential, prepares them academically, guides them through competitive entrance exams, connects them with scholarships and fellowships, and supports them emotionally throughout their educational journeys.
The initiative focuses especially on first-generation learners from underprivileged tea garden communities who often lack exposure to higher education opportunities.
Tarak’s Journey of Survival and Education
Tarak’s own experiences shaped his understanding of struggle and survival. He grew up in a rural village in Uttar Dinajpur district near the Bangladesh border. Financial instability and personal difficulties pushed him to leave home while still in class eight.
In 1996, he travelled alone to Delhi, where he survived by working at construction sites, factories, and petrol pumps while living in unsafe conditions. Later, he moved to Bombay and spent months living at CST station before being connected to Sneha Sadan and meet social worker Mahua Nigudkhar. He was later sent to a Don Bosco orphanage in Howrah, where he restarted his education.
Determined to study further, Tarak completed his schooling while working multiple jobs. He later pursued a degree in French at Delhi University, where he also became involved in social work and mentoring children from vulnerable communities.
Eventually, he joined the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), where his lived experiences gave him a deeper understanding of inequality, migration, and social exclusion.
Beginning the Work in Jalpaiguri
After graduating from TISS, Tarak worked on projects related to missing children and social development across multiple Indian states. In 2013, he decided to settle in the tea gardens of Jalpaiguri and work directly with local communities.
Alongside anti-trafficking work, he noticed another major challenge students had almost no exposure to higher education. Many lacked academic guidance, career counselling, mentorship, and role models.
Most young boys aspired only to become army constables because that was the only visible career path available around them. Tarak realised that students needed not only educational support but also confidence and belief in their own potential.
From a Cattle Shed to a Learning Centre
Tarak’s first classroom was a small community shed previously used for cattle. He cleaned the space and began teaching students in the evenings. His first batch had nineteen students preparing for college examinations, and eighteen passed successfully.
Over time, the initiative expanded into a grassroots education movement supporting tea garden youth across North Bengal. Students started preparing for university entrance examinations and applying to institutions across India.
Today, Himalayan Prayatn continues to provide mentorship, academic support, scholarships, fellowship guidance, and emotional support to students from marginalised communities.
Building Belonging Through Himalayan Prayatn
One of the most unique aspects of Himalayan Prayatn is the strong sense of belonging it creates among students. HP is not only helping students access higher education but also building a safe, supportive, and emotionally secure environment for first-generation learners.
Shared meals are an important part of this culture. Whenever students visit the centre for classes, outreach work, or mentorship sessions, they eat together. For many students, regular meals at home remain uncertain, making the centre a place of stability, dignity, and care.
Students often spend entire days learning, working, and supporting one another, creating a family-like atmosphere within the community.
Creating a Community of Mentorship and Support
Himalayan Prayatn also exposes students to experiences beyond the tea garden communities. Educators, professionals, volunteers, and visitors from different cities and countries regularly visit the centre, helping students engage with new ideas, cultures, and career possibilities.
The organisation also conducts community outreach programmes, college orientation sessions, picnics, and alumni interactions. Former students who are now studying or working professionally return to mentor younger learners and share their experiences.
These interactions help create confidence, aspiration, and a cycle of mentorship within the tea garden communities themselves.
A Movement Changing Hundreds of Lives
Tarak Majumdar’s work through Himalayan Prayatn demonstrates how education, mentorship, and long-term community support can transform lives.
What started inside a small cattle shed in Jalpaiguri has today become a powerful grassroots movement helping hundreds of tea garden students access higher education and build better futures across India.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
At The Logical Indian, we believe education becomes truly transformative when it is rooted in dignity, belonging, and long-term community support. Tarak Majumdar’s work through Himalayan Prayatn reflects how one individual’s lived experiences can evolve into a grassroots movement that changes the futures of hundreds of young people. In communities where higher education once felt unimaginable, Himalayan Prayatn is not only creating access to universities but also building confidence, mentorship, and hope among first-generation learners in Jalpaiguri’s tea gardens. In a time when many interventions remain short-term, Tarak’s deeply community-driven approach highlights the power of sustained support, trust, and human connection in creating lasting social change.
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