About Us

The Tapati Foundation is a small family run and family funded charitable venture based in India. It aims to uphold the values that were dear to Dr Tapati Das Gupta (1935-2020), academic, historian, author, wife, mother and grandmother.  Dr Dasgupta strove to reach out to the most vulnerable sections of society - men, women and children who were deprived of an education, a proper livelihood and human dignity -  individuals who lacked the basic means to lead productive and fulfilling lives. 

Dr Dasgupta is perhaps best known for her series of history textbooks that are used by several schools across the country, but her primary interest lay in broadening the reach of education and making it accessible to disadvantaged sections of people. She was especially interested in women's education, a subject on which she wrote her PhD thesis after her retirement. She also wrote several short stories on the theme of the unfulfilled yearning for education among young girls growing up on the streets of Calcutta.  

Dr Dasgupta's vision of education was a holistic one, which included not just academics, but also a range of activities and skills that would allow men and women to pursue their interests, achieve personal growth and realise their human potential. She was passionate about all forms of creativity, including literature, art, theatre and cinema. She was talented herself, excelling in craft, stitching, knitting, embroidery, carpentry and in conceptualising and directing stage productions. As a young girl, she had taken a keen interest in sports. The Foundation adopts this broad view of education and focuses on a number of creative pursuits and extra-curricular activities for children.  It also recognises the value of various art forms as exceptional manifestations of human creativity and supports individuals and communities that engage in creative pursuits and professions often under exceptionally difficult circumstances.

Dr Dasgupta was particularly sensitive to the plight of the elderly, especially those who had spent their lives working in the unorganised sector of the economy and who were not eligible to pension.  She felt strongly about the necessity for basic financial protection for the elderly. Therefore, the Foundation is committed to supporting the elderly in meeting cost of living  and healthcare needs. 

Many of Dr Dasgupta's wishes remained unfulfilled during her lifetime. The Tapati Foundation was set up with the aim of bringing some of her ideas to fruition. It is currently a small private foundation that chooses a few causes to support each year. Its primary interests are education; the promotion of literature, fine arts, the performing arts and sports; women's empowerment; and elder care. 

In addition, the Foundation has a small contingency fund to support causes that arise out of exceptional disadvantages or pressing circumstances and emergencies, even where these may not relate to its main areas of interest. 

The work of the Foundation is only a tiny step, a drop in the ocean, towards fulfilling some of Dr Das Gupta's dreams. The trust is a little over three years old and its reach modest, but it hopes to expand its activities over the next few years.