OUR STORY
East Quest, the name
The name East Quest was born out of a heartfelt conversation between Avijit, our founder, and his close friend Sanjay, a chef by profession. As they sat reflecting on their shared love for travel, discovery, and storytelling, the name came to them—simple, yet powerful.
East stands for India. East represents Asia. The east is where the sun rises first. It also symbolizes everything that lies east of the Greenwich Meridian, capturing the vast, diverse, and rich cultures of the region we call home.
Quest reflects the never-ending drive to seek, to understand, to explore. It's the pursuit of something new, or sometimes, the rediscovery of something long forgotten. It speaks to a deeper longing—the passion to go beyond the surface and connect meaningfully with places, people, and stories.
East Quest, the logo
The East Quest logo has been inspired collectively by two people. The first person is Allan Blanchard, an intrepid nature traveler and a close friend. Allan traveled extensively for a little more than a month through India’s Northeast, guided and accompanied by Avijit, a year before East Quest was founded. Together, the two friends came up with a first-of-its-kind holistic wildlife experiential tour in Northeast India, calling it the Primate, Rhino, Hornbill Tour. The naming of this specific tour was defining in the thought and formation of our logo.
The Gibbon, which happens to be India’s only ape, is featured in the top right corner of the logo. It represents all primates and all tree-dwelling, lesser-seen, often overlooked arboreal mammals. The Rhino represents the Asiatic one-horned rhinoceros, an emblem of resilience. Its comeback from the brink of extinction stands as one of the greatest conservation success stories in the world. The Hornbill symbolizes the close, age-old relationship between nature and indigenous communities. Revered in tribal folklore from the hills of Northeast India to the tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia, the hornbill is a timeless messenger of the forest. The Leopard was Avijit’s addition. It represents all big cats and top predators. The encompassing circle reflects the sun, the moon, and the circle of life.
Together, the logo is a reflection of what East Quest stands for: storytelling through symbols, reverence for the wild, and a commitment to exploring the unseen corners of our natural world responsibly, curiously, and with heart.
East Quest, the founder
Avijit Dutta, fondly called Avi, is a naturalist who has been working in the travel and hospitality industry since December 2010. Though originally from Calcutta, Avi’s story began in the hills of Kalimpong, where he spent 13 years of his childhood attending boarding school. Surrounded by the majestic, snowcapped Himalayas, he grew up wandering through pine forests and quiet mountain paths. Red foxes, porcupines, and his personal favorite, the elusive flying squirrel were his early companions. It was also in Kalimpong that a scruffy cat named Bittu, who roamed the school campus, first stirred Avi’s curiosity and affection for cats both feral and wild.
His academic journey in history and tourism deepened these interests, shaping a fascination for archaeology, food cultures, hill tribes, and forgotten trails. During his college years, Avi spent a lot of time backpacking across India, often choosing offbeat routes and lesser-known destinations over well-trodden tourist paths, deepening his connection and understanding of the land and its untold stories. Before founding East Quest in July 2019, Avi worked extensively as a naturalist across the diverse landscapes of Central India, the Sundarbans, Kumaon, and the remote Northeast of India, in addition to contributing as a writer and wildlife photographer to Nat Geo traveler, Saevus wildlife, and Terrascape travel.
Among all his experiences, Avi often describes his four transformative years in the forests of Pench as the most defining. It was there, while tracking tigers, leopards, and wild dogs, that he says he truly evolved from a boy into a man, shaped by the discipline, awe, and humility that the wilderness instills.
East Quest is more than just a venture for Avijit; it is a deep extension of his heart and soul. Along with his passionate team, he is committed to crafting unforgettable, soul-stirring experiences for travelers across the wilderness and remote, lesser-known corners of India and Asia—places he has explored intimately himself, often on foot, with a backpack, and an insatiable curiosity for the unknown.