V Balaram, one of India’s best known German tour guides, dies of cardiac arrest

One of India’s pioneering tour guides, V Balaram, passed away today morning due to cardiac arrest. He was 52-years-old.

Balaram was a key driving force in popularising the Kerala Tourism brand in its initial days when very few guides could present a holistic view of Kerala and its culture.

Balaram was a well-known German speaking guide, whose professionalism was instrumental in promoting Kerala as a destination of choice in source markets such as Austria, Germany and Switzerland.

Armed with immense knowledge of various international cultures besides supreme command of Kerala’s tourism delights, he was associated with Tour India, one of the country’s leading tour operators since the 1980s.

Balaram accompanied National Geographic and BBC television crews to help them cover Kerala’s magical monsoons with the legendary Alexander Frater, author of Chasing the Monsoon.

The body of the deceased is kept at General Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram. Details of the cremation will be known later.

He is survived by his wife and daughter, who is a plus-2 student.