Showcases how Agastya evolved from humble origins into a globally acclaimed educational foundation, revolutionizing science education with hands-on, innovative methods.
This inspiring journey highlights scalable solutions and pioneering approaches that have sparked creativity and empowered thousands of children, offering invaluable insights for educators and changemakers.
The Remarkable Story of the Agastya International Foundation
The Moving of Mountains tells the inspiring story of how a small group of visionaries transformed Agastya into one of the world’s most respected educational foundations.
Through a hands-on, innovative approach to science education, Agastya has sparked curiosity, nurtured creativity, and empowered thousands of children across India and beyond.
From its humble beginnings to global recognition, this book highlights Agastya’s resilience, scalable solutions, and pioneering methods that are shaping the future of education.
A must-read for educators, policymakers, and social entrepreneurs, it offers both a compelling case study and a practical guide for implementing impactful educational innovations.
What readers are saying
Insight into the Transformational Journey of Education across India As a personal friend of Mr. Ramji Raghavan, I had the unique pleasure and honor to work for and with the Agastya Foundation from 2005 to 2015 from Bangalore India. Having visited the Kuppam Campus numerous times, taking my two daughters, visiting neighbouring Government schools, participating in Operation Vasantha, and much more, Agastya and the Mission captured a deep part of my heart and soul. It was at Synopsys where we were able to sponsor mobile science labs and create an innovative science fair called Anveshana. I was so fortunate to meet the luminaries mentioned in the book. The Moving of Mountains takes us through an insightful journey of promoting curiosity, removing fear, and building confidence for millions of school children across India. Today Agastya touches over 5 million students per year. The book touches on the challenges, twists, and turns to execute the Mission that has turned into a Movement of global proportions. A must read for any scientists and social entrepreneur.
Agastya: Transforming education for millions of low-income families in India "For those of us who cannot understand why our school systems, almost everywhere, are hopelessly entrenched in ineffective and vestigial 20th Century educational thinking and are oblivious to the urgent need for fundamental change, this book provides much-needed inspiration. It is a beautifully written and deeply insightful story of Agastya's empowerment, through active, hands-on, discovery-based learning, of many millions of children and young people from low-income families in India. Sethi vividly describes the iconoclastic, visionary, passionate leadership of Agastya's founders, their profound understanding of how children and young people learn, their exceptional expertise in organisational dynamics, and their inexhaustible resilience and resourcefulness in the face of constant setbacks. Agastya's achievements are unthinkable in the world of mainstream education; there is much in this book for mainstream educators to learn from Agastya."
IGNITING MILLIONS OF YOUNG MINDS FOR BRIGHTER LIVES "My prayer is that one day, talented individuals will greatly contribute to the well-being and improvement of my people," said the unassuming monk I had coincidentally crossed paths with. And he went away, blessing me with his eternal friendship. It was long ago, in a secluded hermitage nestled in a dense forest high in the Apennines, which I had visited out of curiosity. Once a physician, later a Jesuit, and ultimately a monk, the prophetic Dom Pedro Rebello was the founder of the New Camaldoli Hermitage in California. A few days later, he would meet with Pope Paul VI and return to his native India.
In The Moving of Mountains, Agastya stands out as a great contributor, embodying one of those holy missions my monk friend dreamt of. Agastya is a world-changing example of our time.
Agastya: A Blueprint for Reimagining Public Education The Moving of Mountains, is a visionaries manual for defying the brute force of compulsory education with a dream, an audacious one, that seeks to transform school the factory model to a pollinator garden. Ostensibly told as the story of three men, The Moving of Mountains is a compelling story of three visionaries brought together by time and chance, imagining an evolving vision of education for children and teachers in rural India–the likes of which the world has not seen. This narrative crafted by Adhirath Sethi, tells the origin and evolution of the Agastya International Foundation and its 25 year arc into a movement that is transforming education though all of India. Moving Mountains" is a 21st century primer on leading, on innovation, and for those critically inclined to want to reinvent and remake education into a more joyous, human, and meaningful experience for all our children and the planet.
