Explocity

Explocity is a Bangalore-headquartered media and publishing company founded by Ramjee Chandran. Its activities have centered on helping urban audiences discover restaurants, hotels, shopping, nightlife, sightseeing, cultural events, and other city-based experiences. The business has operated across digital platforms, newsletters, guides, magazines, and event- and lifestyle-oriented content rather than functioning solely as a conventional magazine publisher. The company’s roots predate the Explocity name. Chandran began publishing Bangalore This Fortnight in 1989, followed by Bangalore Monthly and the Bangaloremag.com website. These earlier projects established a city-focused editorial model built around practical local information and lifestyle recommendations. In 1999, as internet usage was beginning to expand in India, Chandran created Explocity.com. The site developed into a broader city-information platform covering locations including Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, New York City, and Dubai. Some of the company’s early funding came from News Corp., associated with Rupert Murdoch. Explocity subsequently extended its publishing portfolio. The Explocity Guide, previously known as CityInfo, provided information about restaurants, attractions, shopping, and places to visit. The company also developed city-specific lifestyle magazines using telephone area-code branding, including 080 for Bangalore, 044 for Chennai, 040 for Hyderabad, 022 for Mumbai, and 011 for Delhi. These publications reflected Explocity’s attempt to create locally tailored editorial products for different metropolitan markets. Its newsletter activity included MyTime, a daily service, and FirstFoodie, a weekend dining newsletter aimed at the food and beverage audience. The company also pursued specialist and digital formats. Explocity Movies was launched as an online city movies guide, while EXEC, introduced in 2010 and later known as Executive Traveller, targeted business travelers and was described in contemporary coverage as an early Indian magazine for that audience. EXEC later entered a mobile-content arrangement that made its material available on iPhone, iPad, Android smartphones, and tablets. Explocity was also an early adopter of Pagician, software used to produce digital magazines. Commercial partnerships have been part of the company’s model. Explocity partnered with Kingfisher beer on the Kingfisher Explocity Great Food and Nightlife Guides, combining a consumer brand with Explocity’s editorial and city-discovery expertise. The business has therefore occupied a hybrid position between local media, lifestyle publishing, city guides, and advertising- or partnership-supported discovery services. In more recent activity identified in reference material, Explocity has operated under the active management of Sol Mooney Media, a venture started by Chandran. In 2022, it launched Explocity Podcasts, including The Literary City with Ramjee Chandran, a program concerned with language and words. That year also saw the digital relaunch of BangaloreMag and the Explocity Bangalore Guide. These moves indicate a continued effort to preserve Explocity’s city-media identity while adapting older publications and editorial franchises to digital channels. The available reference material does not establish current revenue, ownership percentages, employee numbers, or the precise status of every historical publication.

Explocity developed from Ramjee Chandran’s earlier Bangalore publishing projects. In 1989, Chandran began Bangalore This Fortnight, a local magazine designed around city happenings and practical urban information. This was followed by Bangalore Monthly and the Bangaloremag.com website, extending the same city-oriented editorial approach into additional print and online formats. Explocity.com was created in 1999, during the early expansion of the internet in India. The service broadened the company’s scope from Bangalore publishing to a multi-city information platform. Its coverage included events, restaurants, hotels, shopping, nightlife, and sightseeing. Reference material identifies Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, New York City, and Dubai among the cities covered by the platform. Some early funding came from News Corp., associated with Rupert Murdoch. The company’s next major product was the Explocity Guide, previously called CityInfo. This guide provided information about restaurants, attractions, shopping, and other places to visit. Explocity then developed a family of city lifestyle magazines named with local telephone area codes: 080 for Bangalore, 044 for Chennai, 040 for Hyderabad, 022 for Mumbai, and 011 for Delhi. It also launched MyTime, a daily newsletter, and FirstFoodie, a weekend dining newsletter. Explocity expanded into related verticals through Explocity Movies, an online city movies guide, and EXEC, a business-travel magazine launched in 2010 and later known as Executive Traveller. EXEC subsequently made its content available through a mobile-content partnership covering Apple and Android devices. The company also used Pagician software for digital-magazine production, reflecting its early interest in electronically distributed publishing. Partnership publishing became another element of the business. Explocity worked with Kingfisher beer to produce the Kingfisher Explocity Great Food and Nightlife Guides. The collaboration connected Kingfisher’s consumer marketing with Explocity’s expertise in restaurant, food, and nightlife content. In later years, Explocity was managed actively through Sol Mooney Media, a venture started by Chandran. The company launched Explocity Podcasts in 2022, including The Literary City with Ramjee Chandran, and digitally relaunched BangaloreMag and the Explocity Bangalore Guide in April of that year. These developments show a transition from a primarily print-and-web city-guide operation toward a broader digital publishing and audio-content model. Publicly available reference material does not provide enough information to confirm the company’s current corporate ownership structure, financial performance, or the continuing publication status of all historical titles.

• 2022

  Podcast and digital relaunch phase

  [1]Explocityen.wikipedia.org

  Explocity launched its podcast offering and returned BangaloreMag and the Explocity Bangalore Guide in digital form.

• 2010

  EXEC launches

  [1]Explocityen.wikipedia.org

  Explocity introduced EXEC, a business-travel publication later renamed Executive Traveller.

• 1999

  Explocity.com is created

  [1]Explocityen.wikipedia.org

  The company entered online city information with coverage of urban events, dining, hotels, shopping, nightlife, and sightseeing.

• 1989

  Launch of Bangalore This Fortnight

  [1]Explocityen.wikipedia.org

  Ramjee Chandran began the Bangalore-based city magazine that preceded Explocity.

A city-focused media and discovery brand combining editorial publishing, local listings, lifestyle recommendations, digital guides, newsletters, and audio content for urban consumers and travelers.

• Digital city-information platform · 1999

  Explocity.com

  Explocity.com was the company’s online city-information service, bringing together listings and editorial material about events, restaurants, hotels, shopping, nightlife, and sightseeing. Its coverage extended beyond Bangalore to multiple Indian cities as well as New York City and Dubai.

• City guide

  Explocity Guide

  Formerly known as CityInfo, the Explocity Guide offered practical recommendations and information about restaurants, attractions, shopping, and places to visit. It represented the brand’s editorial guidebook format across different urban markets.

• City lifestyle magazines

  080, 044, 040, 022 and 011

  Explocity published city-specific lifestyle magazines using telephone area codes as titles: 080 for Bangalore, 044 for Chennai, 040 for Hyderabad, 022 for Mumbai, and 011 for Delhi. The magazines localized the company’s coverage for individual metropolitan audiences.

• Daily newsletter

  MyTime

  MyTime was a daily newsletter created to distribute city and lifestyle information to subscribers in a recurring editorial format.

• Dining newsletter

  FirstFoodie

  FirstFoodie was a weekend dining newsletter focused on food and beverage content. It was cited in industry discussion about Indian media businesses serving food and beverage audiences.

• Business-travel magazine · 2010

  Executive Traveller

  Launched as EXEC in 2010, Executive Traveller targeted business travelers with travel and executive-lifestyle content. Its material was later distributed through mobile devices, including iPhone, iPad, and Android smartphones and tablets.

• Podcast network · 2022

  Explocity Podcasts

  Explocity Podcasts is the brand’s audio-content initiative, launched in 2022. One identified program is The Literary City with Ramjee Chandran, which focuses on language and words.

• Kingfisher Explocity Great Food and Nightlife Guides

  India

  Explocity partnered with Kingfisher beer to publish food and nightlife guides. The initiative combined a branded partnership with Explocity’s restaurant, dining, and city-discovery editorial capabilities.

  Outcome. The guides became a cited example of Explocity’s partnership-based food and lifestyle publishing.

  Source

• 2022

  Expansion into podcastsProduct launch

  Background

  Explocity was adapting its city-media and editorial identity to newer digital formats.

  Action taken

  The company launched Explocity Podcasts, including The Literary City with Ramjee Chandran.

  Aftermath

  The launch broadened Explocity’s output beyond written guides, magazines, and newsletters into audio programming.

  Source

• 2022

  Digital relaunch of Bangalore titlesGeneration change

  Background

  Explocity had longstanding Bangalore publishing properties, including BangaloreMag and its Bangalore guide.

  Action taken

  The company relaunched BangaloreMag and the Explocity Bangalore Guide in digital form.

  Aftermath

  The move repositioned established local editorial properties for contemporary digital distribution.

  Source

• 2010

  Launch of EXECProduct launch

  Background

  Explocity sought to extend its publishing activities beyond general city guides into specialist travel media.

  Action taken

  The company launched EXEC, later known as Executive Traveller, for business travelers and subsequently supported mobile distribution.

  Aftermath

  The title became part of Explocity’s travel and executive-lifestyle publishing portfolio.

  Source

• 1999

  Move into online city informationStrategy

  Background

  Explocity’s earlier business was rooted in Bangalore magazines and local publishing, while internet use was beginning to develop in India.

  Action taken

  Ramjee Chandran created Explocity.com and expanded the brand’s city-information model to a wider group of Indian and international cities.

  Aftermath

  The company developed a broader digital and multi-city portfolio covering local experiences, travel, dining, and entertainment.

  Source

1. 1Explocityen.wikipedia.org