People

Dr V.S Ramachandran

V.S. Ramachandran, a distinguished professor in the Psychology Department and Neurosciences Program at the University of California, San Diego, and adjunct professor of biology at the Salk Institute, is responsible for designing our tour itineraries and co-hosting some of them. He holds a deep reverence for India, its ancient traditions, and its temples.

Ramachandran curates our tours and also makes appearances on several of them.

Renowned for his groundbreaking experiments in behavioral neurology, despite their seemingly straightforward nature, Ramachandran’s work has had a profound impact on our understanding of the brain. He has been aptly described as “The Marco Polo of neuroscience” by Richard Dawkins and “The modern Paul Broca” by Eric Kandel.

Ramachandran serves on the editorial boards of several international journals and has authored over 180 scientific papers published in prestigious journals. He is the author of several best-selling books, including “The Phantoms in the Brain.” In recognition of his contributions, he was elected a member of the Atheneum, the world’s oldest scientific club. In 2003, he delivered the annual BBC Reith lectures, becoming the first physician or psychologist to do so since Bertrand Russell commenced the series in 1949. In 2005, he was awarded the Henry Dale Medal and elected to an honorary life membership by the Royal Institution of Great Britain, where he also delivered a Friday evening discourse, joining the esteemed ranks of Michael Faraday, Thomas Huxley, Humphry Davy, and others. In 2010, he delivered the annual Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Lecture in New Delhi, India.

Most recently, the President of India conferred upon him the second-highest civilian award and honorific title in India, the Padma Bhushan. Furthermore, Time magazine recognized his influence by naming him on their prestigious list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Click here for Wikipedia article on Ramachandran.

Jaitirth Rao

Jerry Rao curates our itineraries and co-hosts several of our holidays. He possesses an encyclopedic knowledge of Indian and Sri Lankan history, temple art and architecture, traditions, and culture. A passionate traveler, Jerry currently dedicates his time to exploring India and Sri Lanka, uncovering hidden temples and traditions. He is deeply committed to showcasing the rich heritage of India and Sri Lanka and has partnered with us to do so.

Holding a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad and the University of Chicago, USA, Jerry is a visiting faculty member at both institutions. He has been recognized with the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Chicago.

Jerry spent 20 years with Citicorp, serving in various capacities, including as Head of Citibank, where he spearheaded the development of one of the bank’s Asian retail and credit card franchises. He has also held positions in various regions worldwide.

Prior to joining our team, Jerry served as the Founder, Chairman, and Managing Director of Mphasis. During his tenure, he was awarded the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award twice in 2001 and 2004 and the Karnataka State Rajyothsava Award in 2005. He previously held the position of Chairman of NASSCOM..

Jerry has served as an entrepreneur-in-residence at the Harvard Business School and has lectured at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay.

Click here for a Wikipedia article on Jerry Rao.

Chandan Seetharam

Chandan is the managing director at Indian Expeditions and has over 25 years of industry experience, including managing one of India’s top wildlife resorts. He holds a Bachelors and Master’s degrees in Business Administration from the University of Madras.

Chandan was born in Sri Lanka and grew up in India. Being from a family of academicians, he picked up a deep love of Indian and Sri Lankan history. He has spent years travelling throughout India and Sri Lanka, with a focus on exploring the regions ancient history and cultural heritage.

Chandan has personally led many, many trips and has hosted some of the world’s most acclaimed historians as well as casual travellers. Extremely easygoing and a great story teller, he is regarded as one of the best trip leads in the Indian Sub-continent.

Chandan still finds time to lead some our trips, as that’s what he loves doing most.

Deepa Jayaraman

Deepa is an Indian classical dance artist and certified Yoga instructor. She has been part of some illustrious student lineages, belonging to the oral tradition for more than 20 years. She is a Fellow Scholar in Performing Arts and Indology, and is a ‘culture host’ for Indian Expedition tours.

Deepa has in-depth knowledge of Indian and Sri Lankan art forms. She brings alive ancient sculptures and temple art forms with engaging conversations.

She says – ‘I love travelling. As much as I love the Musée du Louvre and Sistine Chapel, the columnar niches of the South Indian temples resonate differently inside of me. The staggering geographies, the intricate craft, the intellectual art forms of master crafts are so engaging, revealing Space, transporting me each time to a different world. Travel with me! Allow me to kindle the ‘unseen’ dimensions within you.’

VN SEETHARAM

Seetharam is one of South India’s most sought after guides for travelers from the U.S.A., U.K., Australia and other countries.

From trips to the temple town of Kumbakonam to the scintillating beaches of Sri Lanka, Seetharam is acknowledged as an expert in Indian and Sri Lankan architecture, sculpture, Indology and culture.

It is his bookseller roots that have made Seetharam a cultural historian of our times, much appreciated for his insights on prose, poetry, literature and scriptures alike. For decades together and all of the 90’s Seetharam dominated the book business in India with his exclusive and rich treasure, popularly known as “The Bookshop” in Chennai.

The press adored his niche motley of books and tagged it as one of the best collections in India at that time. His elite collection on Indology covering the entire range of Indian history, architecture, iconography, philosophy, Vedic thought and contemporary social ethos was considered to be exemplary. Today Seetharam has hundreds of fans who once visited his bookshop, admired his passion and are coming back to make these trips around South India and Sri Lanka with him.