Avasara Leadership Institute

School Director Avasara Academy 

Sweden India Project 

Program Coordinator

The Orchid School (PUNE)

Founder Director

The Orchid School

Conceptualised and Founded The Orchid School in 2004. Currently heading the Education Society, PNES which also has an Engineering College NKOCET at Solapur. Specialise in instituional building process for the technical college along with introducing program's for students for capacity building and employability quotient. 

Educational Leadership and development is core area of competence. Initiated international exchange program's with Sweden. 

Consulting schools for quality improvement, leadership development, HR processes etc. 

Also engaged in inter cultural training and management for social workers, teachers , culture workers and business leaders.

Founder Director of Orchid School and Director of Education Society - PNES

Pradnya Niketan Education Society , Pune

Engaged currently with the Engineering college for institutional building process, leadership development, HR initiatives, soft skill training , corporate to campus initiatives to develop and improve employability of technology students and quality initiatives for the organisation.

Director, PNES, NKO Orchid College of Engineering& Technology,

Orebro University, Sweden

Cross cutural trainer , Coordinator, Sweden-India Project

Experienced Academic and Administrative Director with a demonstrated history of working in the education management industry. Educational Leadership and OD in Educational Sector along with People Management are her forte. Skilled in Coaching, Entrepreneurship, Executive Coaching, Management, and Start-ups. Strong business development professional graduated from Tata Institute of Social Sciences and Symbiosis institute of management. 

Avasara Academy (Avasara Leadership Institute) | Avasara Academy 

We are honoured to be rated #1 Girls’ Boarding School in Maharashtra and #13 in India by EducationWorld - The Human Development Magazine.
A heartfelt thank you to Bhavin Shah Education World 
and EducationWorld - The Human Development Magazine for this recognition.

This moment is a celebration of a school built on passion and purpose — a dream shared by many hearts.

I received this award on behalf of
- Our dedicated staff, whose unwavering commitment has shaped Avasara over the past decade.
-Our visionary founders, Roopa Purushothaman and Joseph Cubas , whose purpose and vision continue to steer us toward creating opportunities for young women to build their futures.
- Our generous donors, who place their trust in our mission and walk with us in building change.
- And above all, our students, who give meaning to everything we do.

When trophies come, they hold more than recognition — they carry the wisdom of great minds, the love of generous hearts, and the challenges set by those who believe in our potential. 

Grateful, always, for the passion, love, and generosity that continue to shape and strengthen Avasara Academy. 
It is a  quiet reminder,  never to rest on our laurels, but to keep moving forward — with strength, curiosity, and purpose.

Lakshmi Kumar

School Director, Avasara Academy, Mentor , Dhruv Global Schools, Educational Leadership Coach, Advisor, QS- I Gauge, Board Member, SIETAR India, Program Leader, Sweden India Project.

On the mountain, we took seven steps back — not in retreat, but in recognition. Each step loosened a layer of illusion we live by.
Each step as a question and possibility of letting go!! 

Certainty — the comfort we seek in fixed truths, forgetting that life’s essence is flux.

Purity — the notion that anything remains untouched; yet everything is already entangled, already altered.

Control — our persistent delusion that we can script outcomes, when in truth, we are co-authors at best.

Speed — our habit of rushing toward meaning, instead of letting meaning arrive in its own time.

Innocence — the quiet denial that we are complicit in the world’s unfolding; that every choice participates in what is.

Resolution — the belief that everything can be solved, when perhaps some things can only be understood or held with grace.

The fantasy of separability — the final veil, that we are apart from nature, when in truth, we breathe with it, bleed with it, belong to it.

Each step back was, in fact, a step inward — toward humility, toward wholeness, toward remembering that to live wisely is to live in here and now, live in humity , in relationship, not mastery.

Raïsa Mirza led us through this powerful, reflective experience.  Her facilitation is gentle yet striking. 

For both professional and personal journeys I found it immensely valuable as it pushed me to question my beliefs and practices. I m still pondering every day morning as it has become a meditative focus for me. 
Golden nuggets I carry from Hakuba Forum, a truly transformative leadership essential.  
Russell John Cailey ,it is not what we experienced at Hakuba but it is what we carry as life long lessons that echo in our minds. 

Something surely shifted for me!

What am I willing to let go, 
and 
what am I ready to seed!

Weekend Musings —
 
These past days have been deeply reflective for me. The conversations and encounters at the Hakuba Forum  and the ETST (Initiatives of Change) workshop have lingered — prompting me to ask what education truly needs today.

It feels clear that education stands at a crossroads: between what we have always done and what our times now demand. As leaders and educators, we hold the responsibility to shape not only schools, but the imagination and values of the next generation.

Perhaps this moment calls for courage — to question what we have taken for granted, to place dignity at the heart of learning, and to nurture schools where belonging, curiosity, and care guide every choice.

The world no longer needs learners who merely comply. It needs young people who are compassionate, critical, and creative — capable of engaging with complexity and uncertainty.
That change begins with us — in the choices we make each day, in how we listen, and in how we lead.

I’ve also been reflecting on how our schools often mirror the inequalities and divisions around us. Yet, they can just as powerfully become places where inclusion and justice take root. This, I believe, is the moral responsibility of our work — to ensure that every child is seen, every voice valued, and every teacher trusted and supported to teach with purpose.

Moving from policy to practice, from slogans to systems that truly breathe equity — that feels like the work ahead. The real measure of leadership is not found in numbers or test scores, but in how human our schools become. How humane our society can become.

More than ever, leadership in education must be about connection, not control — about creating cultures where teachers feel supported to experiment and grow, where students feel safe to speak and explore, and where learning serves life, not just the syllabus.

As I think back on these past days, what stays with me is a quiet conviction:
Change will not come from a few inspired individuals alone, but from a collective awakening — a shared effort to make education inclusive, humane, and future-ready.

Real change in education begins quietly — in how we choose to see, to listen, and to lead.

Advisory for Educators!

What would it mean for a team of educators to begin each morning with a huddle — to check in, reflect, co-create, ideate, challenge with respect, and remain open to learning from one another?

At Avasara Academy (Avasara Leadership Institute), we nurture this very spirit — where dialogues between students and Advisors form the foundation of mutual trust and relationships. 

At the Hakuba Forum , we experienced the power of such intentional collaboration — a process beautifully curated and facilitated by Christopher Balme . It reminded us that true teamwork is not merely about task, but about connection, curiosity, and collective growth.

My key takeaway: Create a safe space where every wary voice can be heard. Remain open to diverse perspectives. Be ready to change “the jacket” — to adapt, unlearn, and grow together.

Christopher Balme 
Russell John Cailey 
Hakuba Forum
Antonia Rudenstine 
Jason Cody Douglass, Ph.D.

Sitting comfortably on a bean bag enjoying the conference proceedings of GLSN - PAUSE  - this refection flashed through my mind ..... 

Does the chair give power to the leader, or does the leader give meaning to the chair?

In schools, we often see educational leaders "marking" their chairs — the special one at the head of the table, the higher one in the meeting room, the one that signals “this is where authority sits.”

The chair, in many ways, signals legitimacy. It tells others, “this person has the mandate to lead.” In systems built on hierarchy and tradition, the chair matters — it carries weight, visibility, and the power to make things happen. Without it, a voice might be heard, but not necessarily heeded.

And yet, history — and education  — remind us that some of the most transformative leaders didn’t need a chair at all. They led from the corridors, the playgrounds, the margins. Their authority came not from where they sat, but from what they stood for.

In some cultures, the chair defines the person.
In others, the person defines the chair.

Mature leadership, perhaps, is when the chair no longer needs to be marked — when presence, not position, commands respect.

What is your take on this?

A Gentle Reminder from a Powerful Moment

When a young child confidently interrupted a legend mid-sentence, the internet noticed the child’s behaviour.
But what truly stood out was the legend’s response, a calm smile, gentle patience, and graceful silence.

That moment said more about character than about correction.

It reminded us of the quiet strength teachers embody every single day.
They listen when students rush to speak.
They smile through interruptions, misunderstandings, and countless “I know this already!” moments.
They respond with grace not because it’s easy, but because it teaches.

Just like that legend, teachers show us that patience is not passive it’s powerful. In their calm lies a lesson children carry long after the classroom fades.

What’s your perspective, was the kid’s behaviour right, wrong, or a chance to reflect on how we respond? Comment Below 👇  


#Patience #EmotionalIntelligence #Respect #LearningForLife #GrowthMindset #ValuesInAction #AmitabhBachchan #KBC #LifeLessons #Wisdom #TeachingMoments

When you chew the words, with that twisted face and all that conviction — it’s impossible not to feel you.

Honoured to be part of the ETST Workshop (Initiatives of Change) to deliver a session on “Education as an Incubator of an Inclusive Society – Building an Inclusive Classroom Climate.”
Heartfelt gratitude to Stephania Menezes, Kiran Gandhi, Malati S. Kalmadi, Jyoti Kumta, and the entire ETST team for the opportunity to engage with educators.

It was a privilege to interact with a deeply committed and reflective group of participants — school teachers, principals, counsellors, parents, and  few students.

In my session, we explored:

How the idea of inclusion today often centers on diagnosed disabilities and token gestures.

The confusion between integration and inclusion.

How well-intentioned policies often fall short of nurturing belonging.

True inclusion, we discussed, faces its greatest barrier in our everyday biases and prejudices — and each of us, in some way, is complicit in perpetuating the failure to build truly respectful and inclusive classrooms.

We reflected on our school mission statements — to see if and how they speak of inclusive education and how the word inclusion is expanded to embrace diversity in its fullest sense.

While many schools have expanded enrolment, few have expanded belonging.
Marginalized students may enter our schools, yet continue to face discrimination, low expectations, and cultural disconnect.

When every child’s story, culture, and voice can breathe freely within the classroom, learning transforms into a place of belonging.

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