Vikramjit Singh Rooprai


Vikramjit Singh Rooprai is an author, educator and heritage activist. He is better known as the founder of India's largest Heritage-Hobby club, the Heritage Photography Club and Youth for Heritage Foundation. Vikramjit started his career as a digital marketing consultant and later turned into an educationist. His first book 'Delhi Heritage: Top 10 Baolis', dedicated to the stepwells of Delhi is published by Niyogi Books.

Early life and background

Vikramjit was born in Manama, Bahrain and has done most of his schooling from Delhi. He attended Green Fields Public School, Guru Harkrishan Public School and Shaheed Bishan Singh Memorial Sr. Sec. School before joining Department of Electronics and Accreditation of Computer Classes 'O' & 'A' Level. He dropped out of 'B' Level from Jagan Institute of Management Studies. Vikramjit won 20+ awards in Information Technology competitions organized by colleges and computer society of India. Vikramjit married Maninder Pal Kaur in 2008. They have a daughter Sartaj Kaur and son Virpratap Singh.

Career

Software and digital marketing

Vikramjit started developing professional software while in school. After dropping out of Department of Electronics and Accreditation of Computer Classes 'B' Level, he started working with Sirez Infosystems of Delhi as a Research Analyst. In 2006, he joined Digitas and was soon promoted to Associate Director. During his tenure in Digitas, Vikramjit applied for Bachelor of Science through distance education from Sikkim Manipal University. He later applied for and cleared Masters of Computer Applications from same university. Vikramjit started his own company in 2011 under the name Techno:Cats. He and his team was taken over by arvato services arm of Bertelsmann AG. He worked for arvato India till October 2015, before turning into a full-time Educationist and Historian.

Heritage activism

In 2009, Vikramjit started his heritage exploration and named the project Didar-i-Dilli. He started Monuments of Delhi, which later became the most accurate and reliable source of information on the Monuments and Rulers of Delhi. In 2010, Vikramjit established The Heritage Photography Club. In 2013, he started Heritage Talks at various monuments, which were later moved to India Habitat Centre. In 2014, he registered his Trust, Youth for Heritage Foundation and started large scale heritage promotion campaigns.
Vikramjit started promoting heritage through photography. He now conducts regular Heritage Walks and Talks across the country including lectures in Schools, Colleges and Universities. He has been on several panel discussions and debates on Sensitive Heritage Issues. His Twitter Handle has been listed as a specialized handle for Historic Trivia about Delhi.

As Educationist

In January 2017, Vikramjit launched Heritageshaala, an education company setting up Heritage Labs in Schools and Colleges across India. Vikramjit is currently a visiting faculty member at the National Institute of Fashion Technology, Delhi, The NorthCap University, Gurgaon and few schools in Delhi-NCR. He trains teachers on the Integrated Project Based Learning and taking practical approaches to teach Social Science. His company developed card and board games to teach school students.

As Author

Vikramjit released his first book "Delhi Heritage: Top 10 Baolis" in August 2019, published by Niyogi Books. He claims it to be the first book dedicated to the stepwells of Delhi. He spent 5 years researching the for the book and was able to obtain archival material from National Archives, Central Archaeological Library, ASI Photo Archives and IGNCA. He provided a list of all 32 stepwells in Delhi, recorded since late 1800s. Out of these, top 10 were discussed in detail, along with 2 special mentions. Baolis covered in his book are:
  • Kotla Feroz Shah Baoli
  • Red Fort Baoli
  • Ridge Baoli
  • Hazrat Nizam-ud-Din Baoli
  • Ugrasen ki Baoli
  • Munirka Baoli
  • Gandhak ki Baoli
  • Purana Qila Baoli
  • Rajon ki Baoli
  • Loharheri Baoli
  • Baoli of Meherban Agha's Mandi – Arab ki Sarai, Humayun's Tomb Complex
  • Hafiz Dawood ki Baoli, Mehrauli
The foreword was written by Sohail Hashmi and the book was launched by Sohail Hashmi and Narayani Gupta in Delhi.