Going places

A tourist guide’s job will give you an  opportunity to meet diverse people speaking different tongues from different corners of the world.

Satish Kumar Goswami, vice president of Delhi’s Tourist Guide Association, feels awed when he meets high-profile clients. “Once I met the president of a big company in Saudi Arabia, who was an ardent Muslim, but was exploring Hinduism in India. It is always exciting to meet foreigners who are so curious about India,” says Goswami.

More than 50 lakh foreign tourists visited India last year, propelling tourism sector growth to eight per cent.

Avadhesh Narayan Mishra, a tourist guide who mostly caters to French tourists, thinks highly of the profession, thanks to the challenges and versatility it offers. “A tourist can question you on anything from Indian mythology to Mother Teresa. You have to read a lot to avoid cutting a sorry figure,” says Mishra. “We (as tourist guides) help re-create the country’s image in the minds of foreign tourists who come with pre-conceived notions about India. They tend to believe what the foreign media tells them, which is at times incorrect.”

Mishra’s younger brother,  also a guide, says “I worked as a company secretary in 1996. Then I learnt German and also worked as an interpreter before discovering the joy of being a tourist guide. It gives me the opportunity to travel all over the country.” He takes people for cultural tours of Buddhist monasteries in north India.

Though any graduate can become a tourist guide, it helps if you have a Bachelor’s in history. Non-history graduates can do one of the short-term courses in art and culture from the National Museum Institute (NMI), Delhi. Sultan Singh Deol, a guide, studied hotel management before he took the plunge in this field. Later he did short-term diploma courses from NMI.

Though it’s said a guide can earn only during the  tourist season (September-October to March-April), Mishra says one can make good money for as long as eight months in a year.  Also, to maximise their earnings, guides usually move out of station (Jaipur, Agra, Rishikesh, etc) often.

There are plenty of challenges. “Whatever (good or bad incident) happens to the tourist is attributed to the guide, so one needs to be on one’s toes all the time,” says Ashok Sharda, president of Tourist Guides’ Federation of India.

Women like Smidha Gupta choose this line for the flexible working schedule.

“The summer vacation is a lean season for us and I can spend time with my kids. Even during the season, I work for only for 20 days a month,” says Gupta.


Author: Vimal Chander Joshi

Date: 14th April, 2010

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