[6] In 1878, Joykrishna Mitra had joined the Brahmo Samaj and married his wife, against the wishes of his family, who responded by severing ties with him.

Sharing Saratkumari's progressive outlook, Joykrishna secured his wife's admission as a student at Campbell Medical College.

In 1892, Saratkumari qualified as a physician and received an appointment at the Lady Dufferin Hospital in the city of Bhagalpur, then in the Bengal Presidency (now in Bihar).

Around 1897–1898, when aged six or seven, his interest in atmospheric science began after hearing the story of Ramchandra Chatterjee, a Bengali aeronaut who a year before Mitra's birth, on 4 May 1889, had become the first Indian to make a solo balloon flight.

[6] During his childhood and adolescence, Mitra nurtured his interest in science through reading popular scientific articles by leading Bengali scientists, including some by Jagadish Chandra Bose.

[6] After passing his FA examinations in 1908, Mitra was admitted as a student in Presidency College of the University of Calcutta where he earned a B.Sc.

Frustrated by the lack of research opportunities at both institutions, Mitra channelled his energy into developing innovative experiments to demonstrate to his students and writing popular scientific articles in Bengali.

Made aware of continual developments in the new science of radio communications, Mitra went to the University of Nancy and joined the laboratory of Camille Gutton.