Opening Doorz

By Martin D’Souza | Opening Doorz Editorial | January 14, 2026

Meet Vivaan and Vihaan Kenia, 16-year-old identical twins who are redefining what it means to be ‘all-rounders’. Most teenagers their age are primarily focused on college applications, gaming, or the next big social media trend. However, while these two certainly excel in academics and extracurricular activities, their true passion lies far from the polished streets of Mumbai. It lies in the dense, bamboo-thick forests of Tadoba, Maharashtra, where the amber eyes of a tiger can meet yours at any moment.

The brothers have both determination and people skills. They can impress adults in meetings or lead a team but they are just as comfortable talking with a village Sarpanch about government programs and money matters. Their interest in the wild started in 2021, when Vivaan saw his first wild tiger. That moment, along with time spent in nature during the lockdown in Lonavala, inspired them to keep going.

From “Love at First Sight” to Lasting Impact

What makes Vivaan and Vihaan Kenia stand out is their maturity. They didn’t just want to take pretty pictures of tigers; they wanted to solve the ‘human-wildlife conflict’. They realised that for a tiger to be safe, the people living nearby must thrive too. Thus was born ‘Tigers of Bharat’, a project that stems from a deep love for Tigers and a concern for the disappearing natural spaces that so many species depend on.

They are determined to bridge the massive gap between urban cities like Mumbai and the rural villages where electricity is a luxury and school kids share just two computers.

Determined and hardworking, the twins have already made nearly ten trips to Tadoba in just two years. They are even learning Marathi to communicate with the local community, proving that they are willing to do the hard work required to build genuine trust. These are not just kids with a hobby; they are young leaders building a sustainable blueprint for co-existence.

With a clear five-year plan and an ‘Eye of the Tiger’ focus, Vivaan and Vihaan are showing us that you are never too young to protect the world’s most majestic creatures.

Excerpts

Many teenagers like animals, but you’ve turned this into a serious conservation project. What was the specific spark that got you both started?

Vivaan: For both of us, we’ve been close to nature since we were very young, but the real turning point was 2021. Just before the lockdown, I visited Tadoba National Park and saw my first wild tiger. It sounds like a cliché, but it was love at first sight. I saw this beautiful creature and was just stunned. Then the lockdown hit, and we spent that time in Lonavala, surrounded by nature, which only made that bond stronger. As I grew up, I realised just ‘liking’ them wasn’t enough; I had to do something.

You often talk about the tiger as a keystone species. Why is that the focus of your work?

Vivaan: Exactly. The tiger is at the top. When you protect the tiger through initiatives like Project Tiger, you aren’t just saving one animal. You are indirectly safeguarding leopards, deer, and the entire ecosystem they live in.

Your project focuses heavily on ‘Co-existence’. What does that mean in a practical sense for the villagers living near the forest?

Vihaan: We aren’t trying to teach the villagers how to live with tigers; they’ve been doing that for a hundred years. They are the first responders who often sleep right on the borders of tiger passages. Our goal is to make that co-existence sustainable. Currently, many villagers rely on the forest for Mahua flowers or bamboo, which puts them at risk of dangerous encounters with tigers. If we can empower them through education and better jobs, they won’t have to enter the forest as often, which reduces conflict.

You are both 16 and from the city. How did you manage to get a village Sarpanch (headman) to listen to you?

Vivaan: It started with a personal connection. I stayed in touch with a safari guide I met. I called him and asked if he could introduce me to the Sarpanch. It took about a week of communicating because they wanted to know our intentions. We made it clear we weren’t there for fame; we just wanted to educate and help. Now, I have weekly calls with them to plan our sessions. We are even learning Marathi, so they feel we are truly one of their own.

What skills are you actually teaching the community?

Vihaan: We are focusing on things that bridge the gap between their village and cities like Nagpur or Mumbai. This includes basic computer literacy, English, and financial literacy. Many villagers aren’t aware of government schemes that help them. We also realised that many kids drop out of school after 8th grade, so we’ve started career counselling to show them why staying in school is vital for their future.

How do you divide the workload for this project?

Vihaan: The initial idea was Vivaan’s, but we’ve divided the responsibilities based on our strengths. Vivaan handles more of the communication with the guides and the contacts on the ground in Tadoba. I look into the different aspects of how we can empower the community and what specific programs we can run for the children. We brainstormed together until it became a project we could actually execute.

Conservation work can be exhausting. Do you think you’ll run out of steam in a few years when life gets busier?

Vivaan: I don’t think so. I’ve been doing wildlife photography for years, and for me, being in nature is my escape. It’s a passion, not just a namesake project. I already know that even after I retire one day, I want to be around wildlife. The obsession is real, and it’s not going away.

How are you funding all these trips and programs?

Vivaan: Currently, we are self-funding. We also recently held a fundraiser where we sold items to raise money. As we scale up and involve more villages, we will look into larger-scale fundraising and perhaps getting volunteers who share our love for animals.

What is the five-year goal for this initiative?

Vihaan: First, we want to make several more trips on our own to get the villagers completely comfortable with us. Then, we want to expand our network to other villages and eventually other national parks. We hope to collaborate with specialised NGOs for healthcare and formal education to bring a proper syllabus to these areas.

As the interview wraps up, one thing is certain: Vivaan and Vihaan aren’t just looking for a photo-op with a predator. They are looking for a way to ensure that the ‘Eye of the Tiger’ remains a permanent fixture of the Indian landscape, rather than a memory in a textbook.

With their blend of city-bred academic excellence and a raw, hardworking commitment to the interiors of Maharashtra, these twins are proof that age is no barrier to leadership. While most their age are trying to find their place in the world, Vivaan and Vihaan have already found theirs, standing firmly between the village and the wild, ensuring both have a future.

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