Calcutta Walks
We were your regular overworked and underpaid individuals, overcome by a sense of ennui. Then one day, we decided to take fate by the throat… and take a look at us now!
We may still be overworked and underpaid.
But there's a new zest for what we do now.
Calcutta Walks falls under the umbrella of V3 Travels and Tours, a Calcutta-based travel agency that serves tourists and makes sure all its clients have a good time. V3 Travels and Tours, now two years old, excels at creating travel packages suited to the different tastes of our clients.
Though V3 Travels can claim to Calcutta Walks, the latter is still pretty much an autonomous entity. Conceived of, founded, and designed by Iftekhar Ahsan – aka Ifte – an intrepid Explorer, Calcutta Walks is manned by individuals from various walks of life. As Explorers, researchers, and a resource team, we have on board theater veterans, historians, architects, lawyers, businesspeople, home-based professionals, corporate entities, and quasi-intellectuals whose sole job it is to keep us on our toes and at our best – for you!
For starters, our company has no ‘guides’. But if you’re looking to explore the city with us, we have trained Explorers to walk the city with you. A bunch of folks from diverse backgrounds, your Fellow Explorers are in love with the city and keep their fingers on its dynamic pulse. This is a challenging task in a city that is on the threshold of major and potentially explosive change! Our Fellow Explorers revel in discovering the extraordinary in what seems everyday. They are opinionated romantics, keen on sharing with you the way things were, are, and should be. Yet a convincing argument from you will get them to change their mind! Remember, our explorers are not historians, but perpetual students who thrive on the concept of shared discovery.
Explorers available include:
Explorer Ifte
Ifte the Intrepid is the one to be blamed for having started it all. His passion for trespassing is second only to his love for this city. Life is an adventure for this true romantic, for whom the predictable is abhorrent. His antennae tune in to all that’s ‘forbidden’. Fun, spirited, and brimming with questions - that’s our Ifté for you. Join him in an exploration of any part, theme, or perspective of the city, though he's all for unearthing and understanding the various sub-cultures that shy away from the mainstream.
Explorer Pritish refuses to explore any more of our city with you but drop a hint about moving out from here and his ears suddenly crop up. Talk about anywhere else in the world and he'll be ready to first arrange everything for you and then, if you're lucky, accompany you. Pritish provides to Calcutta Walks, besides his able leadership and the much needed capital, consistency and organization. Where the others romanticize the city and its environs Prits knows more pristine locales and sends you there with ease and makes sure you have a good time. Lover of dogs he plays sports and loves traveling anytime of the day, year or life.
Explorer Ritwick
He knows pretty well that connecting old / historical Calcutta with modern Calcutta is a challenging task. Yet this is what gets him going on a regular basis with the uninitiated or with Calcuttans (people with profound knowledge of the city)
Touristy Calcutta; Offbeat Calcutta - terms of this sort pour honey to his ears.
Though he has trekked uphill & downhill over 300 kms in the Himalayas during his stint on the Annapurna Circuit or Everest Base Camp - he is happy to lead urban treks like no other when it comes to Calcutta.
He is best loved for remaining silent when he comes across globe trotters - he hears them out & does a comparative study and comes out stronger while leading walks or tours in Calcutta & around.
He is a nature lover & a foodie & his sense of humor can take you off guard. His inability lies in his incapability of relating to one & all in any way other than being 'effusive'. He is as contagious as our crazy city. Beware.
Explorer Rahul
Rahul began his photography career assisting in his college darkroom in exchange for free film rolls so that he could toy around with his camera. In 2004 Rahul landed up for a “National Geographic on Expedition” which was headed by senior photo editors and photographers from National Geographic. In 2005 Rahul’s photographic journey took a dramatic turn when he was selected to assist photo legend Steve McCurry at his studio in New York. Within three months of working there he was promoted as Steve’s digital editor.
Rahul has a Bachelor in Design for Print and an Associate of Arts in TV & Film Production from Collins College, Tempe, USA. He has also been the communications chair for American Institute of Graphic Artists, Arizona.
Other than being a professional photographer, Rahul specializes in the technical aspects of print and color management and freelances with photographers and magazines across the country and helps make fine art prints. A self confessed geek he is always looking for the next challenge that throws a monkey wrench into his thought process.
Currently he is the Technical director at Studio Pomegranate and handles all things geek for a studio that provides family portraits, commercial shoots and every photography related services. He has spoken on various forums about photography and continues to expand his skills and knowledge about the subject.
