Mocked for Making Jagannath Raths, This 20-YO Now Helps Pay School Fees of Underprivileged Children

Photo Credit : Images courtesy of ETV Bharat

Twenty-year-old Sumit Das crafts stunning Jagannath Raths in Bhubaneswar, but his real work happens after each sale, funding school fees for underprivileged children who need it most.

A student at an art college, Sumit comes from a modest family himself. Yet every Rath he sells doubles as a scholarship, changing children's futures alongside his own.

Sumit's own journey wasn't easy. He started crafting Raths in Class 7 and was often mocked for it. He persisted anyway, and that resilience now shapes how he helps others.

Each Rath is handcrafted with painstaking detail, modelled after the towering chariots of Puri's Rath Yatra. That same intricate skill is what makes his work valuable enough to fund change.

Rather than keep his skill to himself, Sumit teaches it for free to underprivileged children, turning a traditional craft into a genuine tool for opportunity and education.

His teaching is hands-on. He shows children how to shape wood, apply colour, and assemble each part, passing down the craft skill by skill until they can create Raths themselves.

Beyond technique, children gain marketable skill and real confidence, moving from curious beginners to capable enough to help create and sell their own finished Jagannath Raths.

Sumit shares a portion of the profits from every Rath sold with these children directly. It isn't charity handed down; it's earned income for skills they've genuinely learned and practised.

For many of these children, that income helps pay tuition fees, buy books and school supplies, and support their families, easing everyday costs that keep kids out of school.

Some of his finest handcrafted Raths are valued at nearly seven lakh rupees. Higher prices mean bigger profit shares, translating directly into stronger educational support for more children over time.

His Raths now reach buyers in Delhi and Mumbai, carrying Odisha's craft traditions far from home. But their real journey ends closer, inside a classroom a child couldn't otherwise reach.