Jayanti Rajagopalan also known as Jonty was born into a South Indian family but grew up in Jamshedpur, an industrial town in the Eastern part of India known for its cosmopolitan culture. She completed her MBA from XLRI Jamshedpur and joined Titan Industries in 1995. For the next almost 14 years, her work in Sales & Marketing with Titan and a brief 3-year stint with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation took her to various parts of India. In 2008, Jayanti Rajagopalan decided to start Detours, a company focused on showcasing the country through its culture, traditions and food rather than just through its historical monuments.