Master’s Stroke:

Master’s Stroke is an annual fundraiser of Bakul Foundation starting 2020 in which a Master (a leader in the world of politics or business or sports or arts etc.) contributes or creates something, which he or she is not known for, and gives that to Bakul, which in turn uses it to raise funds for its work.

THE MASTER in its inaugural edition is Mr Subroto Bagchi, co-founder and former Chairman of Mindtree Consulting and well known business author. He is currently the Chairperson of Odisha Skill Development Authority (in the position of a Cabinet Minister) and was the Odisha Government’s Chief Spokesperson on Covid. One of the most well known faces of Odisha and a well known entrepreneur and author, Mr Bagchi’s best kept secret has been his black and white photography, which he was passionate about in the pre-digital era. Mr Subroto Bagchi has gifted 22 of his beautiful and classy framed photographs to Bakul Foundation, to be used as a fundraiser for Bakul’s activities.

Bakul Foundation has been trying to demonstrate the power of volunteerism in Odisha since 2007. It has been harnessing volunteerism of individuals to promote reading among children by setting up children’s libraries, publishing picture books in the local language Odia and organizing storytelling and other activities. Bakul has also been running environmental campaigns, the most well-known being its Gift a Plant campaign and undertaken many public art initiatives. Most of these activities are carried out entirely with small individual contributions and without institutional funding.

You can listen to the idea of Bakul in this TEDx Talk (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvdclvxzE6o)
You can know more about Bakul at bakul.org.