BHUBANESWAR: Till 2020, Pritish Basa’s post-retirement years were like most others of his age. But a tragedy sent him on a different path and reshaped his life. The retired banker who lost his son to a health complication channelised grief into a mission and dedicated his life transforming the future of needy medical students across Odisha.
Along with a group of three senior doctors of the state, the 72-year-old Basa founded ‘Atut Bandhan’ in 2022 which ever since has been extending financial support to needy and underprivileged students pursuing MBBS in government medical colleges in the state.
What started as a small effort to help a handful of students has now grown into a major support network for aspiring doctors. In just four years, the foundation has been able to extend financial assistance to 299 needy students and is now set to support its 300th MBBS student.
“After my son Mit passed away at the age of 38 in 2020, I decided to do something. The pain was deeply personal but I felt God had presented me an opportunity to do something meaningful,” he said. The idea first took shape in April 2022 when he decided to support a medical student on May 15, marking the second death anniversary of his son.
The criterion was simple - students who already had cracked NEET. So, merit was never the issue. “I wanted to identify students whose parents were unable to fund their studies,” he said. Soon Basa and his doctor friends began reaching out to government medical colleges to identify deserving students.
Their first breakthrough came after they received details of eight financially weak students from MKCG Medical College and Hospital, Berhampur. “When I and my friend Dr Biswajit Mishra, a childcare specialist, met the students, we could not decide who to help. Every student had genuine financial hardship,” Basa recalled. Initially, they zeroed in on two students each. However, one interaction changed everything.
“One of the students selected for assistance told us that his family could still manage two meals a day and requested us to help another friend whose condition was worse. The compassion and kindness of the young student deeply moved us,” Basa said. On their journey back to Bhubaneswar, the two decided to expand the initiative.
Soon the name ‘Atut Bandhan’ (Unbreakable Bond) struck. Basa with co-founders Dr Mishra, Dr Saroj Das Majumdar, professor of oncology at AIIMS Bhubaneswar and Dr Jami Sagar Prusti, professor (anatomy) at MKCG Medical College, Berhampur, set out on an journey to support 50 medical students within a year. Though it initially appeared difficult, the foundation managed to arrange financial support for 52 students just within 10 months.
Encouraged by the response, Basa and his group approached President Droupadi Murmu and invited her to interact with the students and encourage the initiative. In July 2023, President Murmu addressed the students during a programme at Raj Bhavan. “The President herself came forward for the cause, encouraged us and blessed the students. We have never looked back,” Basa said.
To ensure transparency, Atut Bandhan created a simple process of not directly handling any finance. “As a retired banker, I understood that whenever money is involved, people question your intentions. So, we decided that the mentors would transfer funds directly to the students,” he said.
Under the initiative, mentors pay for the student’s annual admission and hostel fees along with Rs 5,000 towards living expenses every month. Basa said most mentors also voluntarily extend additional support for laptops, books and other academic needs. Atut Bandhan focuses on identifying deserving candidates and connecting them with sponsors and mentors.
The initiative has steadily expanded over the years, drawing support from individuals in India and abroad. Mentors from Singapore, the United States, the United Kingdom, UAE, Australia and European countries heve come forward to support students through the programme.
“One mentor from Australia sponsors six students, while another from UK supports four students,” Basa reveals. While nearly 75 per cent of the students are being supported by individuals, the remaining receives assistance from corporate organisations.
The programme has already started producing results. Three students completed MBBS with Atut Bandhan’s support in 2024 and the number rose to 20 in 2025 and 44 in 2026. Many students credit the initiative for the support during the difficult times.
“The journey to becoming a doctor was filled with sacrifices, sleepless nights, stress and self-doubt. There were moments when I felt completely exhausted but the support and encouragement I received kept me going,” says Biplab Samal, a student of FM Medical College and Hospital, Balasore. Samal cleared his final-year MBBS examination this year.
“My success is not mine alone. It carries the blessings, support and faith of the people who stood beside me,” he said, crediting Basa and mentor Tara Ranjan Patnaik, founder and chairman of Falcon Marine Exports Ltd, a leading seafood exporter of India. Apart from Falcon Group, SN Mohanty Group, MGM Group and Surjyamani Swain Educational Trust support the MBBS students.
Mentors associated with Atut Bandhan said the initiative goes beyond financial support and often creates deep emotional bonds with the mentees. “When I first decided to support a student, I viewed it as a simple act of assistance. But after visiting a student’s house in Nuapatna with Pritish uncle, I realised the struggles and sacrifices required to pursue medical education,” said Sushree Satapathy, a mentor and member of Atut Bandhan.
“Knowing that my support helped reduce even one burden from the student’s life made the experience incredibly rewarding,” she added. Satapathy said the initiative has developed a reliable system for identifying, verifying and monitoring deserving students, while also creating lasting bonds between mentors and mentees.
Basa, who now devotes his full time to the initiative, said Atut Bandhan supported 70 MBBS students this year. “We now aim to support 100 additional students every year over the next two years and reach the milestone of supporting 500 medical students,” he said.