Art of Giving made me who I am now: Prof. Achyuta Samanta

New Delhi : Prof. Achyuta Samanta, Member of Parliament and Founder of KIIT and KISS, held a news conference in New Delhi. Prof. Samanta is an educationist, philanthropist, and social reformer who strives to spread peace, happiness, and harmony by developing human ties, loving everyone, and helping those in need. During the press meet he launched the Art of Giving theme 2024 that is “Let’s AOG-5-95”.

The Art of Giving is a universal initiative that promotes inclusivity and support for all, regardless of caste, creed, sex, religion, or gender. It aims to engage a global community aged 5 to 95, embodying universal values of love and support. Every year, it is celebrated on a specific theme. For the year 2024, the theme is unique: there will be no theme. It’s a clarion call of “Let’s AOG” turning the Art of Giving from an action to a way of life, open to interpretation and application by everyone.Previous years’ themes have focused on teachers, caregivers, mothers, children, and the marginalized, with each subject centered on a specific group or cause. The topic determined who and what to offer. This year, however, it deviates from that tradition. By not having a specific theme, The Art of Giving becomes more open and worldwide,encouraging individuals to embrace this philosophy in whichever way they feel right.

In an exclusive interview with Hans India, When asked what inspired him to establish such a significant initiative, he responded that inspiration comes from the Almighty; second, inspiration comes from my own childhood experience, since I was born poor, raised poor, and struggled a lot from the age of four till I lost my father. I can’t express it in words; we had seven brothers and sisters, including a mother. In those days, 1972–84, we were brought up in severe poverty and hunger, and we had not eaten food for 2 days. With all this struggle in life, humiliation comes. How much humiliation must a poor person endure? Nobody knows this better than me. All of this experience has shaped me into the person you see today.

When he was asked about how he started KIIT and KISS with only 5000 rupees in his pocket, he said “while working as a lecturer for 5000 rupees a month, I founded both KIIT and KISS in two leased residences. The beginning was quite challenging. There was no such liberation from 1992 to 2000, and people were not flooded with money. I had a 16 lakh rupee debt on me at one point, and there was no way for me to repay it. I was hiding as people demanded their money back. As a result, I thought about suicide because there was no way to repay the debt. After that, there was a nationalized bank ( Punjab National Bank), in 1995 the bank sanctioned Rs 25 lakh on my face value, from which I returned a Rs 10 lakh debt. After that, I started a constructional purpose firm, and from then on, I never looked back and have progressed to where I am now. KIIT and KISS are now in a very strong financial position and have a significant amount of back loans.”

He went on to explain why the topic was named Art of Giving. He stated, “I have developed the quality of giving since childhood.” When I was 5-7 years old, I used to provide a helpful hand to others in my own way. I used to give my friend one rupee for tea while I was in school, and I did the same in college. I was still giving things to people when I began KIIT and KISS at the age of 25. So, basically, the art of giving things has been inside my body and block since childhood. That’s why I came up with this name. And whatever I am now is due to the art of giving.