Santhosh George Kulangara

Santhosh George Kulangara

Santhosh George Kulangara
Born 25 December 1971
Marangattupilly, Kottayam, Kerala
Occupation Managing Director, Labour India Publications, Safari TV
Known for Sancharam

Santhosh George Kulangara (born 25 December 1971) an Indian travel documentary host from Kottayam, Kerala. He is the son of V. J George Kulangara, the founder of Labour India magazine.

He is the first possible future Indian space tourist and has been confirmed along with 37 others for space-tour operator Virgin Galactic’s 2009 spaceflight.[1][2][3] Kulangara won the prestigious Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 2012 for the work Baltic Diary.[4]

Background

Santhosh George Kulangara was born in Marangattupilly village, Kottayam district in Kerala, India.[5] He is a post graduate and a trained cinematographer. He is married to Soncy and has two children – Sarika and George. He is the son of V.J.George Kulangara, the founder of Labour India Publications Ltd.

He is the co-founder of Labour India Gurukulam Public School, International Gurukulam School in Wagamon and Bluefield International Academy, West Virginia in the US.[6] He is the chairman and managing director of Supplement Communications, an evening newspaper, and Labour India Software Laboratories. He has also developed a unique heritage resort in an island in Vembanadu Lake, at Chempu, near Cochin.

Travels and Travelogues

Asianet News Channel has been telecasting this visual travelogue serial entitled “Sancharam”, lonely conceived and directed by Santhosh George Kulangara, ever since September 2001.

The Limca Book of Records has included this unique and rarest adventure of Santhosh George Kulangara in its pages.[7] He has already been conferred with over ten prestigious honours including the Asian Television Award, the Film Critics Award and several national awards.

Subsequently, Santhosh George Kulangara became the first space tourist from India.[8][9] When Virgin Galactic Company announced its space tourism programme in the private sector, he was the first in India to have his name confirmed for the space odyssey.

Space flight training

Santhosh George during the Zero gravity training at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, United States.

He is the first resident Indian to buy a US$ 200,000 ticket for a sub-orbital ride with British entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic spaceliner. .[10][11]

Other visual media ventures

The film Chandrayaan, based on India's first mission to the moon, written and directed by Santhosh George Kulangara, is possibly the first science fiction movie in Kerala.[12][13] He is the producer of the Malayalam television-programmes Samayam, Acharya (a documentary about Wagamon), Maluvinte Lokam, Chithirapurathe Visheshangal, and Kerala Vishesham which were produced for Doordarshan. He also directed the documentary Krishnagatha.[14] He has published two books on his travels and two more are in the processing stage. The published books are Oru Rabbiyude Chumbanangal (Kisses of a Rabbi), which talks about his extensive journeys on buses and ships through Eastern Europe, and Nataashayude Varna Baloonukal, which is about the interesting sights and memorable experiences of his travels through Europe. He is also writing a book about his upcoming space voyage.[15][16] After 16 years since he had started travelling, ‘Sancharam’ has turned out to be an exclusive, round-the-clock exploration channel Safari.The channel offers a 24 hours live streaming.The program Sanchariyude Diarykurippukal in Safari is most notable, Santhosh himself shares his different experiences from journeys in this program.

Awards

Santhosh George Kulangara was invited by the then President of India Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam to the Rashtrapathi Bhavan, New Delhi on Thursday, 3 May 2007.

He won the 2002 Kamal Patra award for young businessmen. He was also awarded Yuva Prathiba Award (2004), All India RAPA Award (2003) and Vivekananda award for his contributions to the tourism and education sector.[17][18] He won the prestigious Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 2012 for the travelogue Baltic Diary.[4] He visited the former President of India Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, who gave him a few tips for his space journey. Santhosh George Kulangara was advised by the President to see to it that the children of the nation are benefited by his experiences.[19]

References

External links

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