Rathish Balakrishman

Rathish Balakrishnan is the Editor-in-Chief of Sattva, a monthly e-magazine focusing on the social sector in Karnataka. Every month, Sattva focuses on one topic related to social sector and showcases work done by individuals and organizations that are beyond the focus of mass media. In addition to covering organizations, they invite experts on the topic to share their views and also collate information that can be used in daily life around the topic of interest.

Rathish has been part of Sattva since its inception in 2006 and has played a key role in setting up the editorial team and in the day-to-day research and editorial activities. He has been part of each of Sattva’s 23 issues so far.

In addition, he volunteers regularly with various organizations in Bangalore as part of weekend voluntary activities.

One of the key challenges in the social sector in India today is to bring together organizations that are making a sustainable difference and individuals who want to contribute to the society. Sattva addresses this need by researching various organizations and showcasing the work they do.

To quote one specific instance—an orange seller in one of the remote villages in India started a school using his lifelong savings. His story was covered in Sattva. Recently, Rathish received a call from the orange seller that a philanthropist from the US visited him in the village and has provided substantial financial aid to improve his school infrastructure.

Organizations that have listed volunteer opportunities in Sattva receive part-time and full-time volunteers, most of who are new to Bangalore and were looking for ways to contribute to the society.

Today, Sattva has an active subscriber base of 4,000 and since it is an online magazine, it has readers from all over the world.