Amreesh Andrew Chandra is a change agent for the better. The Executive Principal and Trustee of St. Paul's Schools (SPS) in Gorakhpur, he’s passionately committed to making the world a better place to live for the generations to follow. The best way to bring about this desired change is to sensitise children by creating awareness and help inculcate a healthy attitude towards life in general and environment in particular.
The 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) by the UNDP are to ensure equitable and environmentally consistent development, and bridge disparities between nation states, regions, classes of people. These are the set of values all conscientious citizens should adhere to for the greater good of humanity.
As they say charity begins at home, so does change. The SDG goals at SPS are visually highlighted and behaviourally encouraged, is reflected in each and every aspect of the school life here. A child’s mind is malleable, they learn fast, so it is pertinent that they have the right influences in their formative years. This is what SPS does with great passion under Amreesh’s inspiring leadership.
The importance of it cannot be overstated in this age of technology and connectivity—which is the new normal. A localised action can provide a template of change for the better across the globe, particularly the Global South—where India has emerged the leader. Glocal is the word, local initiative snowball into a global campaign, shift, lead to break from the past.
A natural leader, Amreesh is a doer with a high emotional quotient. He’s blessed with a remarkable capability to alien people from all walks of life to a cause. He gives his heart and soul to his various projects. He has a way with words, an effective communicator is also a motivator.
He looks keenly at people, and gets to know more about them than they think. His strong intuitive mind guides him. It’s almost an occult quality, he can see things coming, premonitions are like a splash of vision. A versatile personality—he could be like a literato genteel from London, and, in the very next moment, can become quintessential Gorakhpuri (local) who speaks with relish in Bhojpuri—a dialect of Hindi.
One of his recent projects is an environment lifestyle magazine Mosaic (www.thehouseofmosaic.in)—the first of its kind in India. I was there to attend the launch. The local MP, Ravi Kishan, the vice chancellor of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gorakhpur University, Poonam Tandon, and host of influential people from the region were in audience and promised to do their bit to make green in vogue. This, to me, is a humble beginning of a big change with style.
Amreesh is part of a legacy, his parents—Rev. Girish Chandra and Nirmala Marian Chandra—painstakingly built SPS. They have selflessly worked for the cause of education for nearly 50 years, and their life is their message of simplicity and grace. They exemplify what Ovid had succinctly said: ' dripping water hollows out stone, not through force but through persistence.’
They have set high standards to follow. Amreesh is all set to take it to higher levels. In the last few years of his taking over the affairs of the school, three more branches of SPS have opened, one in Maharajganj—a neighbouring city close to the Nepal border. A multi-speciality hospital is being constructed not far from the school campus. All aligned to the SDG goals.
His mother, Nirmala, played badminton professionally in the mid-nineteen-sixties, which to an extent explains why Amreesh is a sportsperson par excellence, He was playing tennis and badminton with professionals while still in school. Also, an avid golfer--his father got him golf tutorials when he was in class 6. Blessed with the energy and enthusiasm of a teenager, Amreesh is a teetotaller, always was—is high on life and looks half his age.
A natural leader, Amreesh is a doer with a high emotional quotient. He’s blessed with a remarkable capability to alien people from all walks of life to a cause. He has a way with words, an effective communicator is also a motivator.
Amreesh has strengthened the community his parents built. The school provides education to the underprivileged, and children of the staff—most of them live on campus. They did well and made their family proud. Therefore, the staff works with almost religious fervour, not just to make a living, but as a service to God. They all feel blessed.
Amreesh idolises his parents. Their picture hangs at the entrance to his office, are his guiding force but he’s not them. He has a mind of his own, a strong charisma, quirks, likes and dislikes. He represents the generational shift. ‘I will not be modest to the goodness of abundance given to me by God. I’m a testimony to the goodness of God,’ he says poetically, and adds, ‘I will be led by faith.’ His parents are at ease with this change he represents for they have faith in him and the faith that guides him.
In the journey of self-actualisation, Apostle Ankit Sajwan is his friend, philosopher and guide. Apostle Ankit is the is the founder and senior pastor of FOLJ Church – a vibrant, dynamic and fast-growing church in New Delhi. ‘The people God brings in your life is a sign of His goodness,’ he says.
Amreesh has been blessed in abundance with the entrepreneurial skills as a talent. He started many businesses, ran them successfully before joining the school. He made many friends along the way, some of them have had a profound impact on him--like Subrata Roy, the founder Sahara India Pariwar.
He consulted and helped setting up of educational projects across the world—Bangladesh, Sweden, UK, Macedonia, UAE to list a few. He hobnobbed and made friends with various heads of state, business leaders, parliamentarians; he makes a special mention of his friend Lord Kamlesh Patel, a members of the British House of Lord. Amreesh's contribution as in the field of education-was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II of England when he was awarded the prestigious 'Freeman of the City of London' in 2012.
His life-partner is very talented Preeti, they are parents of two high achiever (seems to be a family trait) daughters—Sarah Muskan and Khushi Ann. Sarah pursued studies in the US, is a doctor married to a doctor. They continue to remain disarmingly simple, are courteous and driven. Khushi is willing to take forward the legacy—service to humanity is a family vocation. He's a proud son and a proud father.
Amreesh could have had a lucrative career with high remuneration. But that was not to be. Home is where the need to escape ceases, and that for him unequivocally is Gorakhpur. Even when he is in Delhi, within a few days he craves to get back home. He is known in the town as 'Bhaiya'–the brother. Though, he often wonders, why, over the years, even his childhood friends treat him with awe, not in the same skittish childhood ways that he misses a lot.
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