The story unfolds with thunder and lightning. At an elevation of about 4,000 feet, Tanashri Shivalkar, the founder of Backpackers India Group , was coming to the realization that their group’s supplies won’t last another night. This trek, in 2017, was one of many that Tanashri embarked on in her youthful passion, never guessing that she would be stranded for 48 hours in adverse conditions, fighting against the weather, with only strangers for company. Luckily, the rescue team brought them back before their resources depleted. However, rescued from the storm, Tanashri landed in a pit of her parents’ alarm. She had to now decide what her fate would be from here on out; she could either never go on a trek again or make trekking her future.
“It made me feel that if I have come back from such a situation, this thing will never let me down.” – Tanashri Shivalkar
The idea of Backpackers India Group was ignited that very day. At the age of 18, Tanashri firmly planted her feet in a male-dominated industry. By 2018, Backpacker’s India was a proud experience provider, conducting two events per month. As a small company, operating out of Mumbai, they offered only two products, trekking and camping, in regions relatively close to the city. With these humble beginnings, Backpackers had a vision, to advance and evolve.
Backpackers India Group had an unconventional start. It was not built to be a financially viable venture. After all, as a second-year college student, Tanashri did not have many financial responsibilities. Backpackers India was passion made flesh. It was the pursuit of a career where the horizons were limitless. Tanashri wanted to be an independent woman at an early age and create her own identity. Backpackers India is one of the few women-led adventure tourism companies in the Mumbai-Pune zone.
“Four years back, if you would have seen this field, it did not have girls, like, we could not imagine a woman being the founder of a company, which is of adventure sports… So, it was very stereotypical thinking, which was going on back then.” – Tanashri Shivalkar
Not to be held back by arbitrary standards, Backpackers made the female vision its strength. They assessed the need of the hour; many women and girls weren’t allowed to go on trips with those of the opposite gender. Initially composed of an entirely female team, Backpackers created all-girl events and met with great success. Even now, after men have become a part of the team, Backpackers India creates events solely for women every so often.
As the years progressed, Backpackers India Group started adding more products steadily with intense market research and location recce. The focus was on creating products that benefit people. Backpackers started Nature School Camps for children to bridge the gap between classroom learning and practical experience. Children learn rainwater harvesting, map reading, and wildlife basics to help them learn essential life skills.
Pet camps were introduced because the team realized that pets don’t generally get to socialize as much as they should. The lack of exposure to the natural environment and interaction with other animals was leading to behavioral issues in pets, especially exemplified by aggression in dogs. Backpackers want to add a break to the modern, monotonous life, not just for dogs, but for humans of all ages and identities.
The company has grown from offering only two products per month to multiple events every weekend. Backpackers now offer horse riding, self-defense workshops, national and international tours. Apart from having open-events where everyone is free to book a place in the events, the company now regularly hosts customized events with colleges and corporates to deliver an empowering experience. Backpackers India has designed itself to be a company for every kind of traveler.
“There are people who ask me, ‘how was your journey?’ But to be very honest, this journey cannot be summed up in words” – Tanashri Shivalkar
Backpackers India Group is driven by the core value of giving back to society. Creating events that benefit travelers is one of the many ways that the team translates this value into practice. The team believes in leaving only an invisible footprint in the locations they visit. The company supports the local economy by supporting local vendors and building strong connections with them.
The Backpackers India Group family is 40 members strong today, 22 on the field and 18 in marketing and sales. Tanashri also extends a special thanks to her parents, and especially her mom, for supporting her on this journey and filling in as backup on many trips “she’s a santoor mom” says Tanashri, her dad who has been a positive support at every minute in her life, not only her parents also her grandparents who have been there always throughout the journey especially grandfather who has supported her since the inception of the company the first set of trek kit was gifted by him he was more than happy to be into this field that meant alot to Tanashri.
There are a few members who, along with Tanashri have shaped Backpackers.
Raghav Kulkarni who was a driving support and father figure when backpackers was a baby.Ummeayman Mandsaurwala has been with the group since its inception as a backbone Nishant Talawdekar has been burning the midnight oil in the core team, and Priyank Vasani, who along with being a business advisor, made the entire organization more structured
“It’s very, very important to have a good team. There have been events where we have cried, there have been events where we were under tremendous stress. With a good team, you can execute a lot of things, even which are out of control, because this is not a one-man job” – Tanashri Shivalkar
