Taking Entrepreneurial Stakes on India's Cultural Inclination: WHO VR in a Bid to Mix Heritage and Technology!

"One can take the architectural design out of the heritage building, check it, and keep it back to the monument!" was the sentence that stopped us from furthering our walk amidst the series of unique start-ups presenting their models and ideas. This was WHO VR, an idea of Ajit Padmanabh who has been working towards converging the heritage with technology to offer immersive experiences to travellers - but especially the ones who cannot travel beyond their cities!

Hailing from Bengaluru, Padmanabh has already set up such experience centres in Kerala, along with his city. "It is all about recreating history with technology," he says as we speak on the sidelines of the Somaiya Innovation and Impact Festival 2025, which took place in the  60+ acre zero-waste campus of Somaiya Vidyavihar University, in Mumbai's Vidyavihar while the imageries of Dhola Vira heritage site plays in the background on a screen.

'Best time for such an idea under the current regime'

As much as Indian start-ups are increasing in number and gaining prominence on the global stage, an undeniable trend is one that focuses on taking Indians back to their "Indian roots" in terms of culture, history, and heritage. WHO VR is attempting to utilise this mood of the people. The brand, which has already showcased the idea to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, mentions that this is the best time to come up with such a start-up idea. "We know the pulse of the nation. When else, under this regime, can we expect such an idea to grow?" he says with a grin on his face.

As of now, there are 11 sites, including Dhola Vira in Gujarat, Brihadeeshwara Temple and Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu, the Golden Temple of Amritsar, Sharda Peeth in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK), and Rani Ki Vav in Gujarat, with tickets priced based on the geography of the place. "The price is based on the affordability of the place; it might be Rs. 250 per ticket in Kerala, whereas in Mumbai, it might be between Rs. 800-900," the 45-year-old says.

Contrary to the fact that the physical establishments are largely based in South India, it is North Indians who seem to enjoy these immersive experiences the most, the founder says. "We are working with various states, including Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, and now we have started working with the Kashmir government. It is never a north-south issue for me; it is a pan-India phenomenon when it comes to the inclination towards culture," he says, adding that the stories related to the same monuments also differ in each region, but people are united by the desire to witness the grandeur of heritage sites.

Aiming to bring historical sites, temples, and buildings to the hands of people—quite literally—Padmanabh states that, with the help of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) technology, the goal is to create an "Indic metaverse" filled with hours of experiences, including virtual tours to temples, cultural sites, and architectural marvels. "Currently, if a person visits the physical centre, they can see the details of the monuments' replicas, which they can buy as souvenirs. Along with that, immersive experiences of the monuments and the past are brought into the present, and people can time-travel through them," he says.

The tours offer a glimpse of the engineering marvels that the founder describes as "a powerful instrument." "Engineering in Indian heritage has been a very powerful instrument, and the temples are evidence of it. We have musical pillars and many other such designs that leave us in awe. We want to bring that out as an educational paradigm for students, and for that, we create these sculptures and temples and allow them to be moved from their conventional spots. Imagine turning the structures in 3D, rotating them, and seeing how they look before placing them back!" the founder says with fascination.

But does the experience become too technical, given that it includes understanding architectural engineering? "The curation is different for students who want to learn about architecture and history, and for those who just want to take a tour, it is as simple as taking a tour while being in the comfort of fewer movements," Padmanabh says, adding that the team explains it in a very "non-technical way." "We want people to take away the 'wow factor' and see how engineering was a thousand years ago and how it is today," he states.

WHO VR has already received grants from the Ministry of Education and a few other programmes and is also planning to expand the centres with a caravan facility. "We will set up 300 such sites for immersive experiences," the brand's founder says.

Padmanabh is also very confident about the roadmap for growth and says, "We only focus on T2 and T3 cities, as they understand the value of heritage and culture better than people living in metro cities." WHO VR is currently working with a team of 9 people, some of whom are from Tamil Nadu, Roorkee, and Bhubaneswar.