India in Context
Understand. Connect. Experience.
Why India in Context
India is not a country to be photographed. It is a civilization to be understood.
Most travelers arrive carrying borrowed impressions — fragments from films, headlines, and secondhand stories. India in Context exists to replace those fragments with understanding. For five thousand years, this land has been a meeting point of empires, philosophies, languages, and faiths, and that depth does not reveal itself from behind a camera lens. It reveals itself through context — the history behind a temple wall, the philosophy behind a ritual, the human story behind a craft passed down for generations.
Every journey we offer is a promise: an experience you will cherish for a lifetime, and a depth of understanding you could not have acquired any other way.
Founder
Arun Neelankavil
Arun holds a Master’s degree in Tourism Administration and has spent over fifteen years exploring the many layers of India’s cultural heritage. Frustrated by how often extraordinary places were reduced to a script, he founded India in Context to share the stories that rarely make it into guidebooks.
Fluent in French, Spanish, Japanese, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam, Arun believes language is the shortest path to understanding a culture. His hope is simple: that you leave India not just having seen it, but carrying a new way of looking at it—and perhaps the world beyond it.
Co-Founder & French Guide
Christèle Philis
Christèle Philis is a French national from Lyon and a founding force behind India in Context. Her connection to India spans decades, rooted in a deep and continually evolving understanding of its culture, philosophy, and spiritual traditions. A certified yoga teacher and Ayurveda therapist, Christèle runs her own well-regarded yoga studio in the Monts du Lyonnais region, where she has built a devoted community of students over the years.
“India is my second home — its people, its wisdom, and its spirit inspire everything I do.”
— Christèle Philis, Co-Founder
Co-Founder
Somiya Augustine
Somiya co-founded India in Context on a simple belief: every journey deserves the same precision as the destination itself. She began her career on the ground at Delhi International Airport and went on to work with some of the biggest names in travel — learning exactly what makes a journey seamless, and what quietly goes wrong when no one’s watching closely enough. That standard now shapes everything India in Context does, from the first email to the final farewell.
“Travel is more than reaching a destination—it’s about creating memories you’ll cherish forever. Our mission is to make every journey seamless, meaningful, and unforgettable.”
— Somiya Augustine, Co-Founder
10
Languages spoken fluently, across four continents of travelers
15+
Years studying and sharing India’s cultural heritage
M.A.
Master’s in Tourism Administration
1:1
Personal attention on every curated journey
The Promise
“You will not simply visit India. You will come to understand why this land has shaped civilizations for five thousand years — and you will carry that understanding home with you.”
— Arun Neelankavil, Founder
Begin your journey into the real India
Six curated journeys await — each one designed to reveal a different layer of India’s civilization, guided personally by Arun.
India in Context
Understand. Connect. Experience.
Tailor-made cultural journeys for travelers who want to understand the real India — its stories, philosophies, and people.
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