The magnificent seven who dared to follow their passion for adventure

It's a Monday morning and the idea of getting up early, beating the daily traffic and blues, and heading out to work is draining you. The only thought replaying in your head is the weekend road trip. You might toy with the idea of quitting your desk-bound job and heading into the wilds – like you have always wanted. But, of course, you head off to the office instead. Ever wondered about those enviable few who have either made travelling a career or have struck a balance between the two.

Jay Kannaiyan

Leaving a cushy corporate job in Chicago, selling his worldly possessions, Jay set on a 103,200 km journey on his Suzuki DR650 for three years, three months. The journey took him across 33 countries and five continents. He called this journey of his 'Jammin thru the Global South'. "I could never ignore this feeling that I felt more at peace when on the road, travelling, than going home or to the office," says Jay. Today, Jay runs an organisation known as Jammin Global Adventures in Delhi, which provides curated motorcycle trips, away from the beaten path to some of the most exciting locations in the world.

Rutavi Mehta

From being a hotelier to a social media strategist to an internet marketer, Rutavi has done it all. She was possibly amongst the first Indian solo women travellers and adventurist. Her first solo journey was as a 16-year-old.So far she has done an Everest base camptrek, taught in schools in Ladakh, and taken several bike journeys. From being a hotelier, Rutavi today works as an independent travel consultant, and works with several tourism boards. (Read more)

Dhillan Chandramowli

A rock climber, and a former Worldspace radio jockey, when Dhillan began rock climbing, he was justlooking for something different to do. He did not want to join a gym because, he knew it wouldn't work. He had heard about rock climbing from a friend and decided to give it a shot.

"After Worldspace shutdown the team joined this startup, while it was fun, there were moments when there wasn't much work. I was looking to do something different and so with a friend I went to Kanteerava Stadium and began climbing in 2010," says Dhillan. In 2013, after a small accident, he trained harder and started taking climbing more seriously. Dhillan is still into radio; he does music programming for Internet radio stations and also sets up retail radio stations. His work is mainly freelance, as it leaves him free to climb across different parts of the country.

Kavitha Kanaparthi

The Race Director at Globe Racers, Kavitha's love for running began very early in life. In 2009, she started a blog to capture her experience of runs in India. Globe Racers, today is all set to create a base for ultra-runners in India. (Read More)

Sandeep Singh Sandar

After having worked on brands like Fastrack, Maruti 800, and Wagon R; re-positioning Samsung mobiles in India; and finally working at National Geographic Channel, Sandeep found his calling in the world of travel and outdoors. Sandeep has travelled across 26 states in the country, and has climbed several peaks. The turning point was when during a winter trip to Ladakh, he was stranded because the flight wouldn't take off. "I was doing a winter trek in Ladakh, and when we were returning the flight didn't take off for three days. I was in a home stay in a village in Ladakh.I was secretly glad about this, and this where I decided to start Road Less Travelled," says Sandeep.

Road Less Travelled, started off as a rough plan on a paper, a Facebook page and now is a full-fledged organization catering to those who are looking for experiential travel.

Rahul Ranjan

 A software engineer by profession, Rahul before becoming a full-time climber worked with TCS for four and a half years. While still in TCS, he did his first climbin Dehradun. For a few years, he could balance both his climbing and career, but soon climbing became an overruling obsession. "For the first time in my life I felt this burning desire and love for something so I decided to dedicate my life to it," says Rahul.

Bharadwaj Dayala

One of the first Indians to travel the globe on a motorcycle in 2007, Bharadwaj covered over 50,000 km across five continents namely, Asia, Africa, Europe, America and Australia. Talking about his solo world trip on a motorcycle, Bharadwaj says, "There were several daunting moments. And many times I would be gripped by irrational fear, but the love of the landscapes and seeing different people and cultures kept me going." To ensure that he gets to travel, Bharadwaj takes up jobs that keep him outdoors. He runs the administration of a hospital in Vizag. And apart from being a motorcyclist, he is a trained paraglider, a trekker, and a rock climber.