Their tenacious hold on creating the most lively experiences of the “Garden City” makes Team Unhurried your go-to companion for the richest and most rewarding explorations of Bangalore.
Defining the spirt of Unhurried Walks is Poornima Dasharathi, who was born and brought up in Bengaluru. Steeped in the local culture, she discovered in her growing years a hunger to learn more about the neighbourhood in which she lived, and, in a wider context, the city itself. As a student, all her learnings leant wings to her imagination and deep desire to explore at greater length what made the city tick. “Growing up, we study about major political dynasties, famous incidents, wars and battles but we don’t always know much about the significance of a heritage structure in the city or an important personality whose home would have been in your area–or even the man/woman whose name is given to your street or area (apart from MG Road),” she says, while illustrating this vacuum left behind in the learning process in your student days.
Bengaluru, she acknowledges, till almost a decade ago served as a business hub with the only attraction being the very young and modern palace in the neighbouring city of Mysore. Having identified this gap in her understanding of her hometown Poornima became a passionate explorer of her city's history and decided to share her discoveries and passion with a larger audience through the articles she wrote and the city walks she put together. Bangalore, she found on these explorations, was not just a business hub with a lively cosmopolitan air, there were many aspects of its that begged to be highlighted–its foodways, culture, heritage, art, language etc. “I just wanted to showcase the rich diversity of the city that is a microcosm of the diversity of India,” says she simply.
Once having started, she has never looked back, simply because the walks became such a hit, not only with tourists but with Bangalore’s citizenry itself, which has heightened sensibilities for heritage and culture. “We have had thrilled guests–from individual travellers to Bangaloreans, from senior citizens to school children. There was a mother and daughter who had come on our walks six years ago. Recently, the duo joined us on another walk. Now the daughter is all grown up and wanted to come on another walk with us as she loved the tour when she was young. I was proud of my protégé,” shares Poornima.
Team Unhurried is well reputed for offering delightfully customised walks and tours based on the guests' interests and time for all customers - new and repeat - on its private tours. So there’s always something new which is added to its portfolio of tour programmes.
The USP of Unhurried’s offering lies in its ability to serve up experiences where, from conceptualization to execution, the entire walk or tour is vetted and reviewed thoroughly before it is offered to guests. “Our guides also have a passion for the city, which shines through and works it magic by energising the guests too. Passion for what we do and how we do it is probably our USP,” reflects Poornima.
Guests with Unhurried will love the immersive heritage and cultural experience-driven, insider-view of Bangalore, as peeling back each layer adds some new discovery, which might even surprise the tour guide in unexpected moments. After all, an ancient city such as this will not always reveal its secret self so willingly. Tales and myths and hidden aspects come to light while wandering well-known streets, with hitherto lesser known gems. Abandon yourself to the adventurer and culture buff in you on their Bangalore Pete Walk for an early morning introduction to the history of one of the oldest parts of Bangalore discover why the Basavanagudi Thindi Walk is so popular with even the locals; soak up masterful stories and fresh insights about the botanical wealth and natural heritage of the city on the lively Lal Bagh Walk, led by an expert.