Vikram Joshi is the founder of Rangotri and a prominent figure in the textile industry. He is known for his expertise in traditional block printing. He has represented India internationally, notably at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Alongside his successful business venture, he also serves as President of the Rotary Club of Jaipur Sanskar, fostering Indian traditions and community service.

Vikram Joshi is the founder of Rangotri, established in 1991. He has held the position of president at the Rotary Club of Jaipur Sanskar for three consecutive terms.

The name Rangotri is inspired by the word 'Gangotri.' Rangotri originally meant the source of the origin of colors. Leading his textile company Rangotri and the Rotary Club of Jaipur Sanskar is like a combination of social and professional life for him.

Joshi says that one of his biggest accomplishments as a 24-year-old was becoming acknowledged nationally as an excellent textile technologist. He soon began to get calls from all around the world. Textile technologist Vikram received an invitation to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London in 1995 to give a talk and run a workshop on traditional block printing. Being able to give classes at this museum, which is so historic in itself, through your work is a significant accomplishment.

Here, they were celebrating the 100th birthday of William Morris, an English blockprinter. Joshi was invited there as a symbol of celebrating the Indian block printing industry. He had 15 students in the workshop, of whom 2 started working in this segment and established their businesses. Today, they are known as one of the best textile importers. This gives him a feeling of immense joy & makes him incredibly happy. Following that, he travelled to approximately 8 to 9 countries across the world to deliver lectures on the same. Thus, representing India as a knowledgeable person in this industry has been a great achievement for him.

Talking about the Rotary Club of Jaipur Sanskar, he explains that this platform has served as a bridge for him to connect with kids and the elderly on the same platform. As the name itself says, 'Sanskar', this club focuses on spreading the roots of Indian tradition to the youth as well as the adults. Nowadays, children are very much limited to electronic media rather than spending time with the family or playing outdoor games. They are not as connected to nature as before. Hence, the Rotary Club of Jaipur Sanskar collectively works to make the young generation more aware of the culture, history, and values of the Indian tradition.

The Rotary Club of Jaipur Sanskar is a group that hosts people from all age groups, be they adults or kids. Joshi shares that the motto of Rotary Clubs is ‘Service above self.’ He gives the message that if anyone is inclined towards doing service or social work, they should join this club. The main objective of joining this club should be to positively impact the lives of people and show them the right path in life.

The club also hosts medical camps for general check-ups, cancer awareness, etc. They also take children right before the monsoon season to tree plantation programs. This gives a feeling of attachment to the trees and nature. Every Sunday, they take the children to the jungles and explain to them about trees, different kinds of migratory or resident birds, rare birds, etc. They inform the kids about the ecosystem and introduce them to various kinds of small plants and trees and what benefits they serve.

Talking about his early life, Vikram Joshi shares that he is a resident of Jaipur. He did his BSc degree course in Jaipur itself. Although his family was determined to make him a doctor or engineer, he was always interested in making a career in something related to creativity and art. Having pursued a technical degree, he always had it in the back of his mind to link his degree with the field of art. Fortunately, he enrolled in the Indian Institute of Textile Technology and graduated from there with a degree in textile technology. In 1985, he secured his first job with the Government of Rajasthan.

Unhappy with the profile, he decided to switch jobs. He received a job offer from the Central Government of India on the handicraft board. This profile included valuations, reports, and documentation of textile printers and our traditional prints. This counted as a step towards moving closer to his field of interest. Yet he had the urge to learn the traditional styles of textile printing.

Soon, he received a job offer from a private company in Jaipur, which he gladly accepted. It was after this job that he finally decided to establish his own business in the field of the textile industry and started his own textile company, “Rangotri.”

Coming from an English-medium school, fabric artist Vikram’s Hindi language skills were on the weaker side. Although he always used to read Hindi and other literature, he mentions that he was very attached to Hindi because of his mother. His mother is a homemaker, gardener, and knitting enthusiast. She used to sing as well. His mother played a major role in inspiring him towards nature, art, and music. He did his schooling in Jaipur itself and then relocated to Varanasi to do his graduation in the field of textiles. Living in Varanasi made him feel more attached to the culture, the Hindi language, and the idea of Hinduism.

Being inspired by multiple people in life, Vikram Joshi uses the metaphor of ‘blotting paper’ for himself. He likes to observe and absorb all the good things from the situations and people around him. Moreover, he is inspired by Satyajit Ray, an ideal for art and culture in society. After reading his biography and learning about his work in the field of creativity in Kolkata and Bengal, as well as his international representation, he found great inspiration.

Vikram Joshi shares that his father passed away at a very young age, when he was merely 13 years old. He shares a memory of achieving 3rd rank in his class and recalls sharing his report card with his father, who wisely remarked, "There's always room at the top." Since that day, this statement has been ingrained in his memory. For him, this serves as a sort of slogan that motivates him to put in endless effort and succeed in all that he does.

Talking about hardships, Rotarian Vikram believes that hardships are more about the achievements of life. Hardships give us the opportunity to rework the mistakes we have made. After his father passed away, it became difficult for him to sail through this tough time. His family is survived by his mother and sister. Being the son of the family, he felt societal pressure to do things and had no guidance. He took this hardship as an opportunity to think that not everything comes on your plate, but we have to work for it and earn it.

In the field of textiles, India ranks as the number one in this industry across the world. The diverse styles of weaving and printing are found only in India and hence have a huge scope in the industry. Joshi advises aspiring artists to establish a USP in their field, enabling people to recognize and identify their work. Drawing from his own experience, he initiated his career with block printing and continues to excel in this domain. Consequently, he has become renowned for his expertise in block printing, making it his USP.

He advises that in this field, we should focus on growing vertically first in terms of volume and business. In the second phase, we must grow horizontally, where we help the artisan community grow and focus on their welfare. The overall horizontal growth of the company is a very satisfying process.

If given the opportunity to revisit the past, Rotarian Vikram would seize the chance to rectify any mistakes he made. He reminisces about a moment during his final year of graduation when he intentionally left a maths problem unanswered, resulting in a score of 90 out of 100. The top scorer outperformed him by six marks, a decision he now regrets, as he believes he could have secured the top position in the institute that day had he not been casual about it. This anecdote underscores the importance of giving our best effort in everything we do and refraining from compromising or taking shortcuts.