Call him a maverick, an individualist or a rebel – Sanjay Rao has lived by his own rules and set his own standards. A chance tryst with paragliding in 1996 was all it took to fuel this intuitive Piscean’s unbounded enthusiasm and he set up Nirvana Adventures soon after, with the idea of developing Kamshet, an area he has had a presence since ’92, as a flying destination.

When Sanjay learnt to fly the teaching available was a far cry from what Nirvana offers today. There were few tired old wings floating around the country, no radios and instructors came in the form of travelling pilots. In his endeavour to create world class paragliding facility in India he attracted to his side an awesome team that he nurtured and guided along the path to the skies. Sanjay forged links with the world free flying community to set systems & standardized training. His knowledge of the area and his relationship with the local people has been instrumental in opening up the area for flying to the Indian and International PG community.

Sanjay’s friends know him to be a great cook, an effortless organizer and a party animal.

In the early 90's a young Steve Reed traveled to India and the Kullu valley from England where he witnessed the beginning of paragliding scene in India. These were pioneering times for the sport in the country and Steve was captivated by the sport. Once back in the UK he signed up for a BHPA certified course and has continued to learn and grow in the sport ever since spending a lot of time in India flying in the Himalayas & Western Ghats. He has spent a number of flying seasons in Turkey too where he undertook XC and SIV courses with Jockey Sanderson as well as two seasons assisting Jockey from whom he learnt much about teaching and safety.

Steve believes that 'KNOWLEDGE IS SAFETY'. His focus is on turning out knowledgeable and competent pilots who understand flying as well as enjoy it.

Steve brings with him a wide experience and high standards as well as his committed attitude to teaching and flying. We at Nirvana Adventures are proud to have him on board.

A native of Karanjgaon, the location of our favorite Shelar site, Ravi has watched us fly since the first day we stumbled upon this site in 97’ He joined Nirvana Adventures in ‘03 as a part of our scheme to involve and impact upon the lives of the locals. Months of rigorous training under the watchful eye of the senior crew as well as his own keen observation over the years have made him a competent pilot. He loves to fly and is a proficient tandem pilot too. Ravi often accompanies visiting pilots to the flying site if the team is busy at another site with students.

His quiet self assured calm is infective on the ground handling field and students he supervises are quick to relax under his able care.

Astrid manages the marketing and administration from the Bombay office. She grew up in a little village by the sea in Mumbai and traces her ancestry back to the original inhabitants of Bombay. She graduated with honors in Ancient Indian Culture and has had a successful career in advertising & film making in the city for 10 years. Somewhere along the way her dream and that of Sanjay’s merged to create a vision that most others thought was fantasy. Today Nirvana Adventures, her garden at Kamshet and her son take up much of her time. Astrid also runs Native Place, a purpose built guesthouse that doubles as a residential paragliding school at Kamshet inspired by the sustainable, ecology conscious homesteads of village India. She networks with the BNHS and other conservation organizations in the areas of nature education and conservation.

She reports on the nesting of the endangered vulture population in Kamshet to the Peregrine Fund. She is also a freelance travel writer.

The 3 musketeers from Karanjgaon have observed the sports growth at Kamshet since their childhood years. They have been packing gliders at the Shelar site for years now and officially joined the team in 2006/7 making their dreams to fly free a reality. They have notched an impressive amount of ground handling hours, completed of both EP and CP courses, intensive theory classes & flying hours and have mountain flying experience under their belts too. They are our permanent trained ground crew and you will appreciate their service in the field.

One of Nirvana Adventures pillars, he is the main man at the guesthouse. Always smiling and ready to please, Pushkar is a good cook and a people’s person. He takes care of the daily running of the guesthouse and will organize anything you need. It is his beaming face that greets you when you arrive. He does not fly solo as yet but loves acro and XC tandem flights. When Phillipe, a visiting pilot, flew him tandem from the Lake View site to Shelar, he whipped out his mobile phone in-flight and proceeded to organize some tea at the landing field and a vehicle to transport them back to the guesthouse.

Pushkar has created a niche for himself with his perpetual good cheer and his relationship and interactions with the locals.