It was my birthday, April 7th, and I had just flown from sunny San Francisco to snowy Ithaca to visit my brother, who’s doing his PhD at Cornell. A day earlier, I had been walking in the sun with my cousins, sipping coffee in cheerful cafés, feeling light and free. Now, I was indoors, surrounded by silence and snow. The sky was grey, the temperature had dropped below zero, and everything felt cold and still.
I remember thinking, why did I leave California? I could’ve been celebrating in warmth and sunshine.
And then something shifted.
As I was scrolling through Instagram, a reel popped up. Two young people in bright athleisure were twerking to “Rock That Body” on a Kolkata footpath. It was funny, bold, and so unexpected that I laughed out loud. Then I clicked on another video. This time, a tall boy was walking slowly while another came up behind him and mock-handcuffed him. The caption read, “Suspect was Caught Walking in a Run Club!” It was cheeky, playful, and strangely heartwarming.
And then it hit me. This was Calcutta. My own city. And I hadn’t even known that something like this existed.
I was surprised, almost a little guilty. How had I missed it? How was something so full of joy, community, and purpose unfolding in my hometown without me knowing? I made it a point that as soon as I returned to India, I would meet the people behind it.
That’s how I met Sreyas Agarwal and Swarnim Modi, the co-founders of The Calcutta Run Club.
And this is their story.
Sreyas and Swarnim met at La Martinière for Boys, and though life took them to different cities, they stayed connected. Sreyas studied Computer Science and Economics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and founded a computer vision AI startup. He also supports his family business. Swarnim also studied Computer Science at Manipal Institute of Technology, followed by a Master’s in Entrepreneurship at Esade Barcelona, and now runs his own tech firm, ChurroTech, while also supporting his family’s steel manufacturing business.
They didn’t have to start something new. But they felt something was missing. They were both passionate about fitness, and they also sensed a gap in the city’s social fabric, a lack of community that felt natural, light, and energising. So they combined fitness with connection and decided to build something they themselves had been looking for.
In October 2024, they made an instagram post to come run at Rabindra Sarobar on a Sunday morning. That run sparked something. From that quiet start, The Calcutta Run Club began to grow, not with strategy decks or marketing, but with laughter, consistency, and a sense of belonging.
Today, over 120 people show up every weekend, and larger events see over 270 runners. The energy is unmistakable. But it isn’t just about running. The club became a space where people of all ages and backgrounds could come together, connect, and grow.
Their very first run was in collaboration with Smile Makers, an NGO. That set the tone. CRC continues to donate to NGOs and local causes. It is built on inclusion and heart, not hierarchy. They’ve hosted yoga mornings, built partnerships with cafés for post-run meetups, and made it a space where everything, from business ideas to friendships to relationships, starts organically.
What stood out to me most was how driven Sreyas and Swarnim are. They could have comfortably stuck to their tech paths and family businesses. But they chose to step out, build something fresh, and offer their city something joyful. Their internal team meets regularly, reflects, experiments, and grows together. They are not just building a club. They are building a culture.
When I asked what they would tell people afraid to start something new, Swarnim said, “Learn from your mistakes. If you keep repeating the same ones, that’s not consistency, that’s insanity.”
Sreyas added quietly, “Just keep showing up. Some days, waking up early is tough. But once you do, the whole day becomes magical. The whole week feels different.”
They’ve brought back something essential to this city, the feeling that Calcutta is alive, and that mornings can be full of energy, laughter, and purpose. They’ve made it cool to wake up early. They’ve made networking feel easy. And in doing so, they’ve inspired countless others to start their day with intention.
And all I have to say now is this. Some start revolutions with speeches. And then there are others, others like Swarnim and Sreyas, who have started one with running shoes, a water bottle, and a strong determination to make a difference.