Scientists, historians, teachers, naturalists, heritage guides, students, parents, and café regulars. The Learning Centre is an open ecosystem. Find your place in it.
Every part of the ecosystem is designed to be participated in — not just observed. Six ways people are part of TLC.
Scientists, historians, naturalists, and independent thinkers who work under the umbrella of the Trust — each with their own research, their own page, and their own invitation to engage.
A plant scientist with decades of published research — most recently as Professor at Nitte (Deemed University) before joining CFAL as Research Director. Her Mangaluru Tree Count Report 2023 moved policymakers and conservationists across Karnataka.
She currently leads the Nam Mara Mysuru Tree Census (95,000+ trees verified) and the Amara urban greening initiative. As Principal, she brings the same rigour she applies to a research paper to the question of how children should be taught.
Google Scholar profile verified at tlc.edu.in. Published work: plant molecular biology, phytoremediation, coastal ecology, environmental biotechnology. ResearchGate profile available.
An engineer who became one of India's most rigorous historians of the western coast. Five books across twenty-five years — deploying database methodology and primary archives to recover the true story of the Goa Inquisition, the Seringapatam captivity, and the origins of the Indian people.
His central concept is the "factoid" — a distortion that gains the status of truth through repetition without evidence. He builds the case against it archive by archive.
Runs a reviewed journal on this page — open to community submissions on Konkan and Canara history, Indian pre-history, and historical methodology. Alan reviews every submission personally.
A mathematician who spent decades documenting Mangalorean community history — its genealogies, its streets, its families, and its intellectual traditions. Author of landmark works on the Mangalorean Catholic community, including Mangaloreans World-Wide.
He leads heritage walks of Mangaluru for TLC students and the public — not scripted tours, but living conversations with a man who knows what every street corner remembers.
Available for heritage walks, historical sessions with TLC and ELC students, and consultation with researchers working on Mangalorean community history.
Independent researcher working under the umbrella of the Learning Centre Trust. Part of the community of thinkers who gather at TLC Café and contribute to the Research Centre's intellectual life.
Specific research areas, publications, and projects are detailed on his individual page.
Research area and specific collaboration details to be added — confirm with VJ before publishing. This card is ready to receive full content once details are provided.
Community historian and guide who leads the Heritage Walks of Mangaluru in association with the Learning Centre. Deep knowledge of Mangaluru's layered history — its Portuguese quarters, its temples, mosques, and churches, the streets of old Mangaluru and what they carry.
His walks are part of the TLC and ELC heritage curriculum. They are also open to parents, families, researchers, and anyone who wants to know Mangaluru more deeply than a map can show.
Heritage walks run monthly. Registration through the Learning Centre. School groups accommodated on request — ideal for the TLC Nature and Heritage curriculum at Grades 7–10.
The Learning Centre welcomes independent researchers, naturalists, historians, artists, and thinkers in any discipline. We offer a research library, a publishing platform, regular interactions with students, and a Thursday evening café conversation where ideas find each other.
Write to research@tlc.edu.in →Real science, inside the school. Scientists work on the most urgent questions in ecology, biodiversity, and cognition — and students work alongside them. The research here touches real problems.
Mangaluru carries Portuguese churches, Tipu Sultan's fortifications, Tulu kingdom inscriptions, ancient temples, and coastal trade routes connecting this shore to Arabia and Persia. Most citizens walk past this every day without seeing it.
In partnership with historians and heritage enthusiasts, the Learning Centre offers guided walks — living conversations with people who know the city from the inside.
Know Mangaluru's history, ecology, or architecture deeply? Lead a walk for our community.
Propose a walk →Every Thursday evening at TLC Café, one question is put on the table. People come from across Mangaluru — different professions, ages, expertise. No registration. No particular knowledge required. The only requirement is genuine curiosity.
TLC Café is also a specialty coffee roastery — single-origin beans from across India, roasted on campus with the same philosophy that guides education here: minimal intervention, maximum quality, deep respect for the origin.
Recent Thursday questions:
Kavoor Campus (open) · Akashbhavana (opening soon)
Both campuses open Monday to Saturday, 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM. Every enquiry answered personally.
