Meet The Wanderers
The Wanderers
was formed with a view to promoting unconventional and offbeat holidays for the discerning traveller. Our tours are for those who would like to explore the land and its people, for those who wish to uncover the superficial layers that can never reflect the truth of a great culture and to finally discover the real gem that shines within. The idea is to show people a world that exists beyond brochures and boundaries, beyond luxuries and beyond imagination! The stupendous natural beauty, the cultural diversity, the exotic flora and fauna, the historic sites steeped in time and the warm and gentle people will all be a part of your travel experience. For the days you spend with us, we will be the catalyst watching you evolve as you experience the magic that unfolds.
How it all Started!
A chance meeting at a personal development course between two strangers, Rajinder Singh and Abhik Dutta, led to the beginning of The Wanderers – a travel company that focuses on lesser known exotic destinations.
Unsure of what to do with their lives, Dutta and Singh realised they shared two interests -travel and Sikkim. Dutta roped in college friend Ashis Das, who was also drifting along in a job he didn’t like.
With less than Rs 10,000 as capital, two offices were set up Mumbai and Kolkata – one in Singh’s garage and the other on the ground floor of Dutta’s residence.
Their first client was a honeymooning couple, after which business took off through references and a promotional tie-up with the Crossword bookstore.
Meet The Team
Ashis Das
Ashis Das met Abhik in college in Kolkata and thereafter the two drifted in various directions. His occasional disappearance in the midst of work to surface hours later in a remote hamlet in Darjeeling or Sikkim (and even Bangladesh, a fact he rarely admits!) baffled his bosses and family alike. Chucked the rigours of the nine to five job for his first love - the mountains, he dived headlong into forming The Wanderers. Today, he is the backbone of the firm and is the 'figures' guy and work takes him to some incredible places in search of wilderness lodges & quality 'chhang.' He has forayed into off beat locales across the Himalayas, as well as places in Tasmania, Indonesia, China, Borneo, South Africa, Ireland, Italy, Finland, the Rockies etc and just ONE quality snap to establish his reputation as a photographer! (Of late, digital technlogy has come to his aid and he has come up with snaps that have finally met with critical acclaim!)
Abhik Dutta
An Army brat, Abhik Dutta's love for the Himalayas started at the age of 10, when he began studying in the little known hill station of Kurseong that lies under the shadow of its more famous cousin, Darjeeling. The frequent picnics in the tea gardens, the chugging of the toy train, the distant views of the mighty Khangchendzonga range, the midnight trek to Tiger Hill, Senchal Lake as well as to the Balason river valley tugged at his heart and many years later he returned to promote the areas in which he grew. After a short stint in the corporate world, he met up with two close friends who shared his passion for travel and together they started The Wanderers. With his special love for the Himalayas, he has traveled the the length and breadth of the Indian Himalayas. Some of his most memorable forays have been through Bhutan, Tibet, Nepal, the dimly lit backstreets of Thailand to the temples and erstwhile 'killing fields' of Cambodia. Other adventures both foolhardy and exciting have caught up with him in the Amazon, the glaciers of New Zealand, the Arctic Circle, the skies of Namibia, the silk route in Uzbekistan, the pubs of Budapest and other places. Passionate about bird watching and fishing and inept at both, he hopes someday he will land himself a fish. He dreams of having a mountain lodge near a stream with loads of rainbow trout in it and birds above it.
Rajinder Singh
Leaving behind the world of computers, travel caught up with him when he first travelled into the mystic Himalayas. And since then the lure of Himalayas still continues. Ofcourse, ask him to recount the sordid tales and he would do it for a song! His dream: To take a year off, driving through all of India and searching for an ideal piece of land in the shadows of the Himalayan range and building a small cottage to hang up his boots some day. In his spare time he'll be up in the Himalayas or dangling 100ft up on a tree house in the rainforests of Northern Kerala trying to figure out why he exists. His travels have led him to sky diving in New Zealand and 'dipping' his feet in the waters of Mauritius; to finding bio-diversity hotspots in Thailand, Halong Bay & Malaysia; 'Veg Chinese food' in Hong Kong; offbeat tracks in Wales, Austria, Switzerland, Canada, Italy and self drive routes in South Africa and Australia!
Shobita Louis
Shobita Louis is our General Manager-Operations. Efficient, dedicated and affable, she is hard to beat. A dog lover she spends her Sundays caring for strays in and around South Mumbai. Her hobbies are music, movies and indulging in 'retail therapy'. Her dream holiday would be in Naples with George Clooney for company. A workaholic, she knocks off 11 hours a day (minimum). Stood 1st in the 'I know America' course conducted by Globus/Cosmos for Travel Agents across India. Way to go.
Parthasarathy Das
Parthasarathy Das, is our Accounts Manager and shows us the money. He is our Agony Aunt and hears out all our problems with a patient ear.. Our "Outdoor Expert" and a regular fixture at our corporate programmes...right from balancing our tents and our balance sheets, we can always 'lean' on him. What would we ever do without him?
Keyur Dave
The Wanderers in Gujarat : Keyur Dave For someone who believes that 'happiness is positive cash flow', it's hardly surprising that Keyur should be having the additional responsibility of showing us the money in Gujarat! Loves the Himalayas and wildlife and has an eye for detail and dreams about living out of a 'modern hut' in the wilderness!
Shilpa Maithilee Barve
The Wanderer in Pune : Shilpa Maithilee Barve Shilpa Maithili Barve was a bharal (blue sheep found in high altitudes) in her previous birth. What else explains her decision to drag a 'brand new husband' for 2 weeks on her honeymoon in the wilderness of North Sikkim where locals fear to tread in winter! Has travelled around the world with her husband who is a 'shippie' but calls Pune her base camp. Has travelled extensively to remote parts of India. Wants to get some answers about life and settle in a remote mountain place ('though maybe once I get the answers I would not need to go anywhere!!').
Farzana Haque
An architect by profession, who for the last 6 years successfully ran a popular travel branch office at Pune is an avid traveler herself. Her expertise in destination knowledge and clear understanding of client requirement has always assured the best of service to our customers.
Reshna Pathak
It is in the destiny of our Regional Director in Gurugram to be in the travel business. Reshna's passion for exploring new places and experiencing new adventures has seen her go to places as diverse as Uganda, Tanzania, Djibouti, South Africa, Nepal, UAE, Oman, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Canada and the US, and she has bungee-jumped in the Whistler Mountains, parasailed in Dubai, sailed and fished in Lake Victoria, made friends with a cheetah in Cape Town and more. But it is in Africa that her heart is set in; after all, she was born in Kenya's Kisumu, a port town on the shores of the world's second-largest fresh water lake, Lake Victoria. Africa is a land that has completely captivated her - so much so that she will soon be wearing a tattoo of the continent as a permanent mark of her love for the land. So if you ever have second thoughts on visiting Africa, you may just get a call from her. But first we need to get her off the dance floor - she can't stop grooving to Punjabi music.
Parveen Kanda
A Doctor by profession and a wanderer at heart, Parveen Kanda joined us to pursue her passion for travel. Heading our inbound business in Vancouver allows her to bridge the distance between her Matra-Bhoomi, India and her Karma-Bhoomi, Canada. She spends part of her time exploring India while growing our inbound business from Canada to India during her stay in Vancouver for a large part of the year. Her focus is on marketing niche tourism (heritage tourism, adventure tourism, and wellness tourism) and sustainable tourism products (eco-tourism and responsible tourism initiatives that benefit local communities and preserve the environment) in India and make them available to the discerning traveller in Canada. She lives in Vancouver with her husband (also a Doctor) and her two children.