Arun Pai is a corporate executive-turned-storyteller, who introduces people to the heritage and history of Bengaluru through ‘Bangalore Walks’.
During a business trip to London, he enjoyed the heritage walks there, making him wonder why India lacked these experiences.
This prompted him to start ‘Bangalore Walks’.
He showed up every Sunday morning at 7 on Bengaluru’s MG Road ready to begin his signature three-hour-long ‘Victorian Bangalore Walk’.
“Sometimes a handful of people turned up, other times a crowd.” But Pai saw to it that the show went on.
Today, he has taken over 30,000 people on more than 1,500 heritage walks.
“Heritage walks usually focus on monuments and architecture. Engaging narration is lacking. The stories are becoming scripted,” Pai says.
“What I aim to do is tailor-make the story depending on the audience,” he adds.
It was this thought that compelled him to go to a bustling MG Road in Bengaluru and design a walk there as opposed to a well-known heritage site.
“If I can get people to be interested in a familiar street they think they know, and see it in a new way, I have achieved what I set out to do.”
Every walk is customised according to the audience.
When one of Pai’s walks included retired army personnel and defence strategists, he says, “I ended up talking about the military DNA of Bangalore.”
During the G20 Summit in 2023, Pai was the official representative of the Government of Karnataka for designing and planning the city tours and excursions to the last detail.
“Over the three days, I highlighted globally relevant stories of India’s history, culture and society to over 200 delegates from 20 countries.”