All About Kali
February 22, 2009
Ramesh Kalicharran looked for his roots and
helps others find theirs
BY MARK ROEGRS
RAMESH DALCHAN KALICHARRAN,
POPULARLYKNOWN AS KALI, personifies
the virtues of diversification. In an age
when travel agents are facing reduced commissions
and one setback after another, Kalicharran
has created a whole new revenue stream that
perfectly complements his New York City travel
agency, Kali Travel (www.kalitravel.com).
Kalicharran was born in Guyana in 1949
into a second-generation Indian family This
gave him a natural empathy for his fellow
Indians in search of their roots. In order to
reconnect people with their pasts, Kalicharran
created a second company that researches
Indian ancestries for his India-bound clients.
“First, for me to conduct a successful search,
my clients need to have an immigrant past, and
to also know what ship they came on,” he says.
“If my clients give me enough information to
get started, I can then reach out to my contacts
in the Caribbean and in India and begin to
reconnect them with their past.”
Kalicharran charges a fee for these services
in addition to the price for his scheduled Kali
Bharat Yatra Tours to India. Presently, Kali Travel
splits its business down the middle, with half
going to India and half to the Caribbean, where
Kalicharran sells more mainstream vacations
such as cruises and resort vacations.
Kalicharran first visited India in 1983, when
he was 34 years old. “I had an instant sense of
belonging when I arrived in India,” he says. “I
wasn’t alone in feeling this way-some people
in my group kissed the ground or hugged a
tree.” Kalicharran has been sending clients to
India ever since, helping them achieve that
same sense of belonging. “India is a window
onto the world,” he says. “The ethnic makeup is
like a bouquet of different flowers.”
Kalicharran is fond of using Taj Hotels and
hotels from The Ashok Group for his clients, as
well as Ramada Inn and Holiday Inn properties
throughout India. He warns against trying to
take in the whole country in one visit. “I suggest
first-time visitors concentrate on touring
northern India,” he says. “Here they’ll see New
Delhi, Agra, Jaipur and Mumbai, the Bollywood
film capitaL” Kalicharran is well connected, and
often gets noted film stars and musicians such
as Padma Shri Ravi, Nirupa Roy and Mahendra
Kapoor to entertain and mingle with the tour
party during their farewell function.
As a young man, Kalicharran left Guyana
to study at the University o[ London. He then
made his way to New York City, where he
worked in the medical field at Bellevue Hospital.
He worked as a manager in a department
store, and opened Arcel, a driving school for
immigrants. He then created Kali Travel and
Kali Bharat Yatra Tours. As if all these activities
didn’t keep him busy enough, Kalicharran is
well known in his community as a leading philanthropist.
He has received numerous awards
from city agencies and community organizations
for his contributions, including the Ellis
Island Award for outstanding immigrants.
Kalicharran has some advice [or travel
agents who are considering selling India [or
the first time. “See it first before you sell it,”
he says. “You have to experience India [or
yourself.”
Article taken from Travel Agent Magazine September 1st 2008
