Luxury Stay @ Kurumba Village Resort

Archana and I have a special connect with mountains and jungles. We find solace, peace and mental rejuvenation each time we visit such destinations and that’s why any place location in such terrain is always close to our heart. This is what drove us to book our recent vacation in Kurumba Village Resort in Coonoor. Located outside the city, the resort is accessible through a fun and exciting off-road drive of about half a kilometer from the main road. It’s very easy to miss the turn, had it not been for a staff member waiting for us on the curb we would have trusted google and moved on ahead!

Kurumba Village Resort presents a luxury experience to its guests through it highly rated service, kosher food and fantastic location. It’s named after the Kurumbas, a local tribe from the Nilgiri region who were known to be excellent hunters/gatherers and lived in steep edges of the Nilgiri mountains. The resort, similar to characteristics of the tribe represents closeness to nature, artistic beauty, and focus on homegrown food.
After a 10 minute off-road drive, we lingered into the reception where the staff was waiting for us with garlands and a local herbal tea. As we were finishing the tea, we saw a golf buggy pulling up and we were wondering what it was for. The staff told us that since the property was spread across 17 across on the hilly slopes, the buggy would help us move around the vicinity. Super! Just the thought of roaming around in the buggy brought out the child within us as we hurriedly hopped on to it trying to occupy the best seats!The buggy took us through the winding roads full of Nutmeg trees, wild flowers and gigantic Bay Leaf trees. The property houses 3 kinds of room depending upon the view and the size of the bungalow – Kurumba Cottage, Kurumba Suite and the pampering Jacuzzi Room.
What we saw next, that moment was so beautiful and mesmerizing! Our room was located right next to a waterfall; so close that we could reach out of the balcony and touch the cold, clear, pristine waterfall flowing down from the massive mountains in front. We were booked into the Kurumba suite; a 2 floored luxury bungalow with a lovely view shown below.
The Infinity Pool

Kurumba Village’s infinity pool is not an accoutrement, but one of the main highlights of the property. The pool is more of a lounging area which juts out into the forest presenting a beautiful view of the valley in front.
Private BBQ in our room

This came highly recommended and we decided to take advantage of the starry night and have the BBQ in our balcony. Soon enough the staff walked in carrying all the ingredient and set up shop, ready to serve us some exotic looking preparations! We were  served with an aperitif and sat down to some tasty morsels, the sounds of the waterfall, Malabar Squirrels and chicken being cooked in ghee. The aroma flew across the balcony, a slow breeze carrying the flavours across to us. We were literally drooling looking at the ingredients and couldn’t wait to get a bite of all the dishes the chef had in store for us.

 

The BBQ preparation is made using home-grown spices and herbs by chef Bablu from West Bengal. He is from Digha and has been cooking for about 10 years. Started cleaning utensils then worked as a server and graduated to being a chef. He was kind enough to share his recipe for chicken kosha with us.

First up, was the tandoori chicken with spicy tomato chutney. It was a delicious combination of the chicken marinated for more a day in various spices all grown in the property. Visually it was striking and the taste of the chicken was an interesting contrast with the tangy chutney.

This was followed by Grilled chicken that brought with it heavenly taste of mustard oil and spices. Cooked to perfection and served piping hot, the chicken was a testament to the chef’s cooking skills. Finger licking good and dripping with juices, we hurriedly lapped up half a chicken in no time! The non veg was accompanied by grilled potatoes, mushrooms, pineapple and corn but we chose to write about the chicken since we are hard core non veggies. Nevertheless, every single tandoori dish was perfect and demanded as much attention as the previous one!

Tree Top Candlelit Dinner

A lavish 7 course dinner served atop a tree house. The walkway decorated with candles led us into the dining space with beautiful flowers on the table, antique lamps and the aroma of local spices. We were greeted by Mr. Murali, the head chef at Kurumba. He has even cooking since the last 20 years and just listening to him explain his preparations made us realise how passionate he is about this art.
The meal started off with a refreshing of mint & watermelon juice accompanies by Russian salad. The fruits and veggies, grown mostly at their property, tasted so fresh and tender and a far cry from the stale ones we get in the city. Next came Onion Rings and chicken fritters. I would have never imagined having these in the middle on a jungle in India and prepared just the way Americans would!
For main course. we had Bayleaf chicken. As we unwrapped the bay leaf, the aroma of authentic local spices filled the air and we could see the juices flowing into the plate. What we experience next was nothing short of an explosion of deliciousness in our palate! Nothing short of sheer brilliance, this chicken took just 30 mins for the Chef to prepare but has left a lifelong impact on us. We hadn’t even heard of such a preparation before let alone taste any chicken as succulent as this.
Our entire dining experience was surreal due to the food and the environment. Nothing can get more romantic for a couple than dining on a rooftop with fireflies all over the place! Thumbs up to the entire Kurumba team for giving us such a stupendous experience!

To sum it up, its a place so heavenly that even the clouds stop by. We watched the clouds, as still as a child in deep sleep, hugging the trees. Overall, we really enjoyed our stay at Kurumba Village Resort and would definitely return. The hotel ticked off the boxes for us in location, service and amenities. Obviously, most people visit Kurumba for the seclusion but I think their greatest asset is their staff. They were all genuinely friendly and helpful and made our stay very comfortable!

Camping @ an Alphonso Farm

We buy them at upto INR 400 a kg but did you know the farmer sells them at less than INR 50 to dealers??? Read about our camp stay experience at “Alphonso by the lake”.

For all those staying in Bangalore, what do you do on a weekend after working your ass off from Monday to Friday and sometimes even half day on a Saturday? Do you spend your evening being exhausted and tired at your cozy home? Do you go out partying with friends? Do you go on a movie date or get involved in some pyjama party at home? Naturally after spending few hours at your work place it gets too late for anyone to go on a weekend getaway!!

Being in this maddening corporate world, we have faced this situation a lot however unlike most, we don’t sit at home with a drink or go out partying. We are travel freaks and any opportunity to hit the road always excites us. When such situations arise instead of being in this noisy city, we head down to one of our favourite weekend getaway destinations, which is 100 km from Bangalore – a small hamlet near Krishnagiri called Nachikuppam.Nachikuppam is a village in Krishnagiri District of Tamil Nadu State. A village which is known for its mango plantation. Hold your breath coz I am not talking about any other mangoes but the most delicious Alphonso. Managed by a group called Linger, this property is called “Alphonso by the lake” nestled in a 60 acre mango farm and surrounded by beautiful hills. As you drive into the property you cannot miss the acres of mango, coconut and vegetable plantations in the vicinity.The first thing that attracted us the very first time we heard about this property was it’s name. Sure enough when we reached the place we could not take our eyes off from hundreds of mango trees which surrounded the property. We could just pluck them and eat as much as we wanted – WOW! These are the luxuries we can never enjoy living in the city.
The drive to this place is quite scenic. Tall green trees cover the road and the farm lands around make it even more beautiful. The property is a perfect place for those who are looking for camping and adventure and for those who love spending their night under a star studded sky.
The property does not have any rooms but what it offers is even more exciting. Army style tents fixed under a shed with wooden cots for a comfortable sleep- a complete feel of camping in the hills. There are  some hammocks for you to lie on while flipping the pages of your favourite book along with a chilled one by the side. We suggest you carry small speakers, your favourite book or games to while away your time here. The Linger group’s theme is Do Nothing and that’s exactly how we spend our time here. We laze around, take naps, play games and spend time next to the bon fire. We never really missed the telly or mobile phones during our stay here!! That’s the beauty of this camp site.
Another thing that we love about this place is their food. The cooks are from the neighbouring village and can come up with some very unique dishes. Right from the dal, veggies to the non veg, everything had a very authentic local flavour to it. The heavy lunch can be followed by a walk by the lake, a hike to the hills, or a lazy satisfying nap on the hammocks under the Imli trees. Evening snacks usually consists of bhajjis, tea/coffee, or lemonade followed by a live BBQ.
Nachikuppam has so far been one of the best places we have been to. It’s close to Bangalore, cost effective and a complete value for money. A perfect place to escape the hustle bustle of Bangalore city and a great way to spend your weekend amidst hills and open sky staring at the stars.
This unique camp gives you an opportunity to camp amidst a beautiful mango orchard, observe the village life, and spent the evening by the lake! A place which we call our perfect weekend getaway.

 

5 Places to Avoid Near Bangalore!

Yes, the title is what we intended it to be! Haven’t you read a gazillion articles titled “10 weekend getaways from Bangalore”, “5 vacation spots near Bangalore” and the list goes on and on. Every single blogger, or so they are called talk about places that maybe a billion people know about. I often wonder why would they even write about it. Is it just a content creation exercise or they actually believe that Indians don’t know about Ooty? As if we haven’t got a fair share of viewing Mithun dancing around locations in Ooty.
Anyways our article is a little different and we will tell you where you shouldn’t travel to and why. We will also give you some alternatives, not all since that’s left to you to discover.

1. OOTY – Probably the first destination people go to when they come to Bangalore. Not their fault though since this is the most publicized destination. We’ve seen Ooty in numerous movies, with tea estates, green hills, romantic walks and what not. But reality hits you hard even before you reach Ooty. The route is full of traffic. From bikers to locals to buses and trucks. You reach the ghats and its a mad frenzy, something out of a F1 race. You reach Ooty expecting to touch the clouds and glide through the heavenly beauty but instead are welcomed by crowded streets, incessant honking, people jam-packed everywhere and garbage strewn all over. We recently had to cross Ooty during the rains and were shocked to see a river flowing through the city (literally). Ooty is in bad shape due to overcommercialization and poor infrastructure. The green cover is reducing significantly and the increasing population has taken a toll on water supply. If you stay in the city you wont find the peace and quiet you’re looking for. Parking is a nightmare and walking around in the heavily crowded roads is just not an option. Food is often expensive and highly mediocre.

What we recommend is that you head over to Kotagiri, Lovedale, Conoor, Kavaratty, Ketti, Wellington or Kurumbadi. They are quaint little towns and don’t see heavy footfalls like Ooty. Most of them are on hillocks and offer panoramic views of the Nilgiri Mountains. You can read some hotel reviews here and here.

2. COORG – Coorg is massive and has several places to visit. However the tourists generally close in on the central part of Madikeri which is packed with accommodation. If you are looking at shopping at the markets or good connectivity then that’s a great place to be.

If you are looking for some exclusivity and peace, we would recommend you try places like Kaginahare, Brahmagiri, Kadanur, Virajpet and Kutta. We were recently in Kutta and stayed at Turtle Pond. Its an Estonian styled homestay and very close to Nagarhole National Park. You can check our their review here.

3. CHIKMAGALUR – The birthplace of CCD is a well-known destination in the South. Located just 250kms from Bangalore, it houses several popular spots such as Baba Budangiri and Mullayanagiri. Scores of hotels, homestays and resorts dot the span of the entire city leaving out the natural beauty this city once had. Most accommodation is generally very crowded and you don’t know what you’re kind of neighbours you are gonna get. We once had an encounter with a noisy bunch of young professionals who got drunk and keep shouting throughout the night. We ended up moving to another location to avoid the constant screaming and drunken brawls.

In Chikmagalur district, we would recommend Aldur. It’s far away from the crowd of the city, has some pretty homestays, a waterfall and great places for off roading. You can also try Arasinoguppe or Hirekolale.

4. NANDI HILLS – I think more people are in Nandi Hills on a weekend than all the metro cities in India. Just kidding but that’s how crowded it can get especially on a Saturday! I still remember visiting Nandi hills in 2010. There wasnt any fencing around the hills, no decks for the view points and hardly anybody around. We would stay there for hours and every person there would manage to find their own quite space on the hill. Fast forward to 2017, and you see idiots carrying out stunts on the hill road, some drinking and driving and then a long line at the ticketing counter. The whole point of visiting Nandi hills back in my day was to escape Bangalore and experience the natural beauty along with some peace and quiet. But now its a hellish experience going there. Traffic is crazy and then when u reach there, you engage in a treasure hunt to find parking spots. Then the hill is crawling with people and there’s no space for you to sit and spend time.

Alternatively, if you need a short break from Bangalore, head to Avalabetta, Kandavara Lake or Thimmasandara Lake on the same route.

5. PONDICHERRY – One of the cleanest places in India, Pondicherry is a great beach destination. Famous for its french architecture, Auroville and ocean views it makes for the perfect weekend getaway from Bangalore. However, if you visit the beaches you will soon realise things are not so rosy. Auroville beach is littered with garbage and cows walk all over the walkways. Parking is also a nightmare with signs posted warning drivers of car jacking. The rock beach is also super crowded during weekends due to its close proximity to Chennai.

If you want to visit Pondicherry, we recommend you book a nice B&B in Auroville or try some of the resorts on ECR such as The Ashoka. The advantage of these resorts is that you get limited crowd there and a private clean beach. Else if you don’t mind travelling a bit, you can head over to Mahabalipuram and try your hand at surfing at Cove Long beach. If you are looking at quieter beaches, head over to Kannur or Trasi (Udupi).

A Gastronomical High

Think Ooty and you come across images of the Nilgiris, massive landscape tea gardens and stunning time-lapse of cloud movements. But you would never associate a trip to Ooty with a treat for the taste buds. Travelmynation was recently in Ooty for 2 nights and decided to stay at Delightz Inn located in Tiger Hills, one of the highest points in this mountain range. It’s an exotic location which lies to the east of Ooty; at the lower corner of Doddabetta Peak and is 6 kms from Ooty town. It’s great for travellers looking for a quaint place that is highly economical and offers all the basic amenities for a weekend getaway.

But the highlight of our stay wasn’t the location or the view or the bison we saw strolling into the property; but the food we had! Who knew that we would experience such high quality gourmet food in the middle of Ooty at such a nondescript place. Mr. Arun, the MD had promised that our stay there would be magical and take us on a culinary journey like none other we had experienced before. So we decided to give it a try to explored the rather comprehensive menu of Indian, Chinese and Italian food.
Tandoori Dishes

The Chefs, mostly from Bengal and Nepal insisted we try their tandoori non veg platter so we ordered one. Delightz Inn offers only in room dining and we were a little concerned that by the time food arrived it would be cold, since it was about 10 degrees at night. The order was placed for 8:30 and sure enough the door bell rang at the right time and we were served the kebab covered in aluminium foil. We love our chicken and prawns and were starving just at the thought of having the platter. Tandoori Chicken always tasted a little bland to us, sometimes salty, and often burnt. I’ve had it in various parts of the world, including India, Dubai and the US. I always find myself ordering it at times and often leaving the place disappointed. But this was not the case at Delightz Inn.

The first thing that hit us was the aroma as we peeled off the aluminium foil from the plate. The tandoori masala smell was evident and immediately our mouths starting watering at the sight of the platter. A big morsel of the prawns that went into my mouth set ablaze my taste buds and create a near euphoric moment! A glance at the chicken and we could make out that it had been marinated for a long time in authentic spices and cooked fresh. Every bite from the platter of the juicy, succulent chicken and prawns was as good as the next one. The waiters would have been shocked to see how we cleaned out the dish; not even a speck of oil was left behind.Chicken Pasta in White Sauce

We are not pasta lovers for the simple fact that we don’t usually find the right texture of cream sauce or the thin pasta we generally like to eat. Due to this we do not visit Italian restaurants and stay away from ordering pasta even when we visit gourmet restaurants. But the pasta here came highly recommend so we decided so have some. When it was served, it looked ordinary. The same thing we’ve seen many times and eaten so many times in restaurants across the country; from cafe’s to 5 star restaurants.First taste impressions – WOW! Delicious, flavoursome in the best way possible. The pasta was perfectly cooked. The sauce was creamy yet didn’t feel chunky at all and the succulent chicken added a great flavour to the dish. The parmesan cheese grated to perfection, landing all over the pasta looked like white xmas on a plate!  It was such a different experience from eating the usual white sauce, but entirely amazing in its own right. I know it sounds weird to call a pasta dish as light, but that’s exactly what this sauce was. None of the ingredients interrupted the texture of the sauce or the pasta and blended in perfectly with each other to create an amazing taste. Our only regret was that we could only eat so much and couldn’t order another plate of this heaven!The standout dish here is definitely the Chicken Pasta in White Sauce. One spoonful of it takes you to the streets of Italy and delivers an explosion of flavours on your taste buds. It’s simply the best we’ve EVER had. Delightz Inn might not offer the best of stay options but the food is a strong enough reason for us to go there each time we are in Ooty. Drop in sometime and have some pasta; leave us a note when you do!

Some pics from our stay at Delightz Inn.

 

 

 

When the radio took us to Kotagiri!

It’s 9am and we are at war! Literally. Driving through rush hour traffic in Bangalore is nothing short of WWIII. The radio is on and it helps draw our attention away from the maddening crowd near Lalbagh. An ad on air catches our attention as it talks about tea estates and a serene hill station. Nature Resorts has opened a new property in Kotagiri, Tea Nest Nightingale and we immediately decide to get in touch with them. A call is made and we are booked for the coming weekend!

5:30am on a Saturday and we are off to Kotagiri. Its raining heavily as we drive through Mysore road. Soon we have crossed Bandipur and reach Ooty. The scene is quite harrowing. Rivers of sewage water flood the streets in Ooty as the rain pounds heavily all over the Nilgiris. Reminds us of the recent flood situation in the North East and Mumbai.

We take a break and have our lunch. Our shoes are completely drenched. Its 2pm and we head towards our destination. At this point we are tired of drving through the rain and waterclogged roads and just want to have a hot cuppa tea. The map shows we have reached our destination. We wind down from the main road on to a small 1 acre property that houses an old British bungalow. The car is parked and we are greeted by Augustine, the manager here.

All though the homestay is next to the road, its quiet peaceful here. There is a lovely landscaped garden in front of the bungalow with a view of the hills and tea plantations. At a distance we can see the hills surrounding Mettupalayam. Lovely view!! We check in and are taken to our room, The Scarlet Minivet. 4 rooms here and all are named after bird species. Ours has a king size bed with an attic and a bed for kids. There is a small sitout area too with a view of the garden.

The room is very plush with all creature comforts in it. The room is cozy, elegant and provides for a great recluse from our busy lives. The property is very well maintained and well suited for couples as well as families. Children would love it here since there is plenty of space to play around. There is a small trail that leads to the tea estates and we are sure the kids will love walking through these!

 The rain stops and the clouds move away. The hills appear from behind the black clouds and the view is just so amazing! This is exactly what we look for when we travel to such places. We take a table on the lawn and are served piping hot tea. A cool breeze blows towards us making the tea drinking experience even amazing. The next couple of hours are spent taking pictures of the landscape and talking to the staff. Some are locals and the chef is from Nepal. We request him to make us some nepali cuisine for dinner and he obliges. They have an elaborate menu with options of Indian, continental and Chinese food with yummy deserts as well.

After spending tranquil moments surrounded by tea estates, a couple of meandering clouds, immersing ourselves in the chirping birds and the clicks of camera shutters, we decided to head back inside. The chef informs us that dinner is served and we go out into the dining area. A large antique radio and a few, really old cameras are kept on the fireplace. We strike a conversation with the staff as they explain how these items were collected from all over the years.

Dinner is served and we are glad to see that the chef has made nepalese chicken and yellow dal. The food is absolutely yum and we finish it off in no time. Its time to hit the sack. We watch an old movie and soon doze off.

 6am and we are up to witness the sunrise. There is a small hillock next to Tea Nest and we see the sun rising from behind the hill. Its an amazing spectacle and we tried to capture this moment with our cameras. Tea Nest Nightingle offers a lot of activities such a horse riding/training, jeep rides, tea tours, waterfall visits, market tours etc and one can indulge in these during their stay here. We recommend you come here for at least 2 nights to experience all these activities.

Nature Resorts is the group that manages this and other properties such as Tea Nest, Tea Nest Annexe and Kurumba Village. We have already fixed dates to visit other properties as we’ve had a lovely experience with Tea Nest Nightingale.

Yoga, Meditation and Surfing!

We just finished our first meditation retreat; to say that we think it has changed us forever is an understatement. Fitness holidays are chosen by people whose goals are to return home slimmer, trimmer, or to become healthier, lose weight or to keep in shape with lots of challenging activities.

We took off on a long-weekend road trip to a place which is 45 mins drive from Chennai and is set away from the busy tourist areas. We had been graciously invited by Srishti Wellness Retreat for a relaxing weekend there and since neither of us had ever experienced a wellness, yoga and detox program, we packed our bags and sprung outta town in excitement!

That day we left bangalore quite early but got stuck for 2 hours in a bad traffic jam which was almost 5 kms long. We lost most of our time there however managed to reach the resort by 3.30pm which included a stopover for lunch in KFC and some tea breaks. To be frank the drive was not as scenic as we had imagined – it’s the highway and the views were pretty mundane. However, the climate was quite pleasant as the weather Gods decided to be kind on us.
Srishti Wellness Retreat is located in a small hamlet called Chengalpattu and is cocooned in lush greenery. On our arrival to the beautiful place, we were greeted by Swatantra – the founder of Srishti and her husband Vivek. A beautiful garland made of white lily’s was put around us followed by a sandalwood tika – a traditional way of welcoming guests. Srishti wellness retreat is a dream being lived in the service of love, spirituality, peace and wellness. It is a community for everyone who knows how to love, give and share.As we walked towards our room, the one word which came in my mind was “WOW”. The place was beautiful. It was bright with lots of flora and fauna. A complete feel of relaxation and revitalization – may be it was the positive energy which filled the air at Srishti… Our rooms were quite spacious and had a beautiful bed with some bright pillows along with a personalised welcome note for us – It was really sweet I thought 🙂
We could see that Swatantra has taken great care to make this a place of love, relaxation and comfort. There were elements of luxury such as the AC, the huge king size bed but also elements of rustic Indian culture, like the earthen pot for drinking water in the room. We could see that Srishti aims at creating everlasting memories through these details.Soon, we learnt that there is yoga everyday in the morning, meditation daily in the evening, a trampoline if you’d like to jump with joy, and lot of fun activities to keep the guests engaged. The evening on our first day was spent in some meditation sessions which are conducted by Swatantra everyday at 6.00pm. After the session, we headed straight for dinner along with the other guests from Chandigarh, Gurgaon and even Bangalore. That night for dinner we had some boiled vegetable soup followed by raagi rotis, boiled dal, raw vegetable salad and some sprouts. All the food that you are served at Srishti is organic – right from the rice to the fruits to all the veggies. Quite self sufficient. The food was scrumptious even though they hadn’t used any masala or oil. Quite surprising!!

DAY 2

The next day was one of the most exciting ones in Srishti as for the very first time we got involved in Detox sessions – the art of cleansing your body. Swatantra has a “visiting master” that guests can work with during their stay, and this time it was Mrs Kamini – a professional yoga teacher from Mumbai who conducted yoga and detox sessions for all the guests. The detox session involved 5 exercises to loosen and unblock the intestines while drinking lots of salt water. Each of us had around 10 glasses of water before we hit the restrooms and let the detox take effect.
As part of the diet, we were only allowed to eat khichdi with lots of ghee in it as Ms. Kamini explained that since our stomach linings were totally clean, the Ghee would help lubricate the stomach lining. Also as an essential part of the detox program we need to eating something light.
By noon, the guests had gathered together in Madhyam – an open air shed made for everyone to sit, relax, share their stories and thoughts with each other. Madhyam is a lovely space to listen to the birds chirping, to feel the cool breeze and also practice yoga in the bed of mother nature. This is something we don’t get in the concrete jungles we stay in. After all  there is no better way to celebrate silence and yoga than to enjoy the sunrise and, opening our hearts to the sun to receive its first rays of vital power.
Initially we were skeptical about surviving the day eating only khichdi without masala or oil in it but surprisingly it was very delicious due to the ghee in it. We loved every bit of it and at times were craving for more! By end of the day we felt completely light, fresh and had so much energy in us. We were all set for Day 3 🙂

DAY 3

This day came with a surprise as the team of Srishti took everyone out for some surfing at a nearby beach call Kovalam Beach. The day was bright and sunny and perfect for the beach. Everyone enjoyed the day thoroughly, especially after their  previous day’s detox session. Lots of food, fun, giggles and laughter – A perfect day full of surprises.
On our return, we attended at art and creativity session conducted by the hosts. The objective of this session was to express ourselves through painting on the walls of Srishti. It was years since we had done this; the last drawing we did was in school and the thought of doing this put a smile on everybody’s face. It was heartwarming to see how creative and unique each guest was in the way they expressed themselves and by the time we were done, the wall looked like a big mural!
It was a good day. It wasn’t what we thought of what happens in a wellness retreat. But Srishti is different. They strike a good balance between fun and wellness activities and I think it very important to keep everybody engaged.

DAY4

This was our last day at Sristi; however the most important one as it was India’s Independence Day, Swatantra’s birthday and the official launch of Srishti Wellness Retreat. The day started with some yoga sessions by Mrs Kamini followed by a healthy breakfast. By 9.00 am all the guests gathered in the meditation hall where we celebrated the launch. Swatantra shared her story and how Srishti came into being. There was also a mesmerising kathak recital by their visiting guest Ms Ruchi Saini – an international kathak performer.
It was noon and time for us to head back home. The last 4 days in Srishti definitely gave us a lot of knowledge on health and wellness and we have decided to practice what we learnt at home as well. The guests we met at Sristi are no longer strangers to us. In Fact we have built such strong bonds of friendship among us that they are now a part of our lives and we have created a whatsapp group so that we can keep in touch.Apart from the sessions, what we liked most about Srishti is the personal connect we experienced there. In this connected world, where friends have become strangers, we saw relationships form like the way they are supposed to. It was quite refreshing to talk to like minded people, laugh, share life experiences and go out for a secret chai drive at night!!There are so many destinations for yoga and meditation lovers all over India, and it can be really tough to decide on the right one. However, if you are someone who is looking to just switch it all off and rejuvenate amongst nature, or someone who is looking for an authentic experience where everything is personalised, an experience where you reconnect with yourself, spend time in a temperate climate and return to your life feeling refreshed, then Srishti Wellness Retreat is a must visit for you.
Indulge yourself by going to this retreat and experiencing a mind-body-spirit rejuvenation while being pampered in natural surroundings. You will really appreciate the joy of finding like-minded people who are also on a quest to achieve more. There are so many things to enjoy here either alone or with others. Apart from fitness classes, guided meditation and personalised yoga classes the place also offers the company of the lovely host Swatantra and Vivek along with their cute little darling daughter “Reet” – who believes she is the princess of Srishti which she lovingly calls her Castle 🙂
**Little Princess “Reet” in her Castle 🙂 MUCH LOVE!!

Most photographed tiger of India!

As a kid, I had always been fascinated by big cats. Everything about them would amaze me so much – their eyes, their body, their tail, their looks, their behaviour – everything!. While all the kids would play cricket / basketball/ tennis etc, I was busy watching channels such as Natgeo or Discovery………chasing the wild 🙂
As I was growing up, my friends’ parents would tell me a lot of stories about the forest and especially the ones in South India such as Bandipur, Masinagudi, Mudumalai etc. So when I finally moved to Bangalore, I decided to visit and explore these places which had always fascinated me. I decided to start with Bandipur forest- a beautiful wildlife sanctuary located in South India which offers a lot of tiger sightings when compared to other wildlife sanctuaries in the South. This forest is rich in flora and fauna including different wild-life such as leopards, sloth bears, wild dogs, elephants, gaurs, barking deer etc. It was in September 2009 when I first visited this place and decided to take the evening safari – little did I know that I was going in for a big surprise!!

The Safari started and we were seated in an open bus. As we entered the forest, it got thicker and thicker. Tall trees and green bushes made it difficult for us to spot wildlife . The sounds of birds and insects filled the jungle. Excitement filled up inside me and my eyes refused to blink even for a second, as I was scared I will miss out on the slightest of sightings. It had been almost 30 minutes since the safari started and we had only been lucky with some deer sightings on the road. Soon we were driving through the muddy roads and suddenly the driver pushed the brake hard –
“ITS A TIGER” – He whispered!

Me – WHAAATTT??

People: “It’s Prince” It’s Prince”

Me: Prince!! WHO’S HE??
Late Prince was one of the most majestic tigers who ruled the Bandipur forest until 2017 like no other tiger ever had. This guy was massive. He was strong, muscular, powerful, handsome, mighty and dominant. He was first spotted by a group of wildlife photographers in 2007 when he was just a few years old. It was believed that Prince originally belonged to the Mudumalai forest range, as he was spotted numerous times by the camera traps fitted in Mudumalai forest, capturing him crossing the forest and entering the Bandipur range.
He had also been very popular amongst the foresters and the visitors. Prince would often be seen gallivanting around the main streets of Bandipur forest. He was never scared of human beings and their presence. In fact, he would often come close to the safari vehicles and pose for the shutterbugs for a long time, due to which it became very easy for tourists to shoot his pictures.
He was believed to be the most photographed tiger in India till date, and many people would call him the “Celebrity Tiger”. Many a times, he was also seen entering the nearby villages especially a village called Mallapura in Karnataka, to hunt for cattle, but never did he harm any human being nor scared them.
Few years back, while Prince was strolling through the main roads of Bandipur, he met with an accident as the driver of a private vehicle lost his balance on sighting Prince and hit him directly. An injured Prince struggled a lot. His fans thought he would not make it but Prince was a fighter and he soon made it back to normal life. The brutal accident left a deep cut on his tongue which ultimately became his identity. People could easily recognise him because of the cut. Another factor that differentiated Prince easily from the rest of the tigers were his arms, which were huge and muscular. Handsome Prince was also believed to have had a lot of girlfriends in the forest and almost all the cubs in the forest were his, however no one has ever been able to prove this.
On 4th April 2017, the 12 year old legendary Prince and the darling of every tourist was found dead. Although the exact cause of his death is still not known but people suspect that he died due to old age. Prince’s death has come as a shock to his fans. Bandipur forest has lost one of its biggest charms and this has been a disturbing news for all his fans. Some  forest officers have even decided  to build a small memorial in his name. A shrine.

Although Prince is not with us anymore, we are sure that wherever he is, he is giving everyone a RUN FOR THEIR LIVES!!
Pic courtesy: @ Juz – https://www.instagram.com/juz__88/

A Fairy Tale Homestay

As kids, many of us have watched fairytales on TV every Sunday morning, but in real life how many of us have got a chance to live or even be at a place like that? Well I have!! A place which is far from the maddening crowd and amidst a huge coffee plantation. Where Drongo’s make such cute yet unusual sounds that it blows your mind away. A place where huge mammals are welcome as well as cute little pups..a place which I call “LALALAND”For those who believe that fairytales exist and childhood dreams do come true then this place is definitely for you. Nestled in COORG-KUTTA, the unique cottages and their architecture is enough to remind you of your fairytales. No wonders its owners-Mrs Meena and Mr Ravi fell in love with this property the very first time they saw it, and decided to sell their house in Gurgaon in order to buy this plantation which they now call Turtlepond.
At the beginning, the huts were just shells and it was with the help of an Estonian traveller and his girlfriend who were on a cycling tour of Coorg and fell in love with the region. They stayed at Turtle Pond for many months and decided to design the shells and turn them into cottages. Later the cottages were also painted by them. The most amazing part about these wooden cottages is that every single bit of it is handbuilt and they typically look like cottages that are found in rural Estonia and Northern Russia.
The rooms of the cottages are cute, quaint, spacious and very comfortable. Apart from the beds, there is an almirah, a cooler, a dressing table and a big washroom.  Every cottage has a small and cute deck outside, where one can listen to the birds; their early morning chatter, or sip a cup of coffee, or even watch some wildlife pass through the property.  Moreover Coorg, that has a cool temperature throughout the year, makes this homestay an ideal place for you to relax and lose yourself in nature.
The owners/ host (I like to call them Uncle and Aunty) are an absolute pleasure to be with. They take such good care of you and ensure you are at your utmost comfort during your stay in Turtlepond. The food served is just delicious. Girish, their cook cum helper, prepares it all along with aunty. I still cannot forget the taste of that yummy chicken gravy which was served to us for dinner that night.
We had an absolutely wonderful experience at Turtlepond. The stay, the place , the room, the food, the gossips, the campfire and the warm hosts  were all just perfect. Exactly what you want when you are on a vacation. Oh and not to forget the thrilling discussions we had about their working days and Masai Mara!!
The owners of Turtlepond  are trying their best to restore the pristine beauty of their property and the plantation. They  are putting in all their efforts to turn their plantation into an organic one.  

Although our first visit to this place was planned for 1N2D,  I am coming back soon and given a chance I would spend days staying in this place. The homestay is so serene, beautiful and has a perfect blend of wild outdoors, coffee plantations, nature trails and beautiful scenic views. A perfect destination for us to be !

Green Eyes, Dark Jungle!

We are wildlife lovers and always jump at the opportunity to spot some in the jungles of Bandipur or Masinagudi. Recently during one such experience we were headed to a homestay near Masinagudi. The Mudumalai National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary also a declared tiger reserve, lies on the northwestern side of the Nilgiri Hills (Blue Mountains), in Nilgiri District, about 150 kilometres (93 mi) north-west of Coimbatore city in Tamil Nadu. It shares its boundaries with the states of Karnataka and Kerala. The sanctuary is divided into five ranges – Masinagudi, Thepakadu, Mudumalai, Kargudi and Nellakota.Situated around the sanctuary is a small homestay. It looks quiant and secluded but as we soon found out, its anything but. This homestay has a lot to offer in terms of nature, wildlife, treks, adventure or even food – this place has it all. Around 260 kms from Bangalore is this homestay where Man meets Wild. While going towards the stay you feel you are going towards a big hill from far, but this hill turns out into a thick wild forest when you enter it.
We reached there on a Saturday noon and the one thing that captured my eyes was the thick forest in front of us. I look around and the only thing I could see is trees & bushes…At this point I knew I was amidst the wild. The rooms here are like those that we saw in the movie “CROODS” …They are stoneage style. A bed, a small table and an attached bathroom is what you will find here. Take a small hike uphill and you will find more rooms that look like caves. They look dark and dingy and we opt to take the ones with better lighting!
After resting for sometime a satisfying lunch awaited us. Rice, rotis, dal, chicken..there was everything ..everything that is least expected in a place like this. While we were enjoying our food someone screamed “Look Up!!…..our heads turned…It was a giant squirrel playing around in the trees- It was my first encounter with such an animal. A treat to our eyes 🙂
Post lunch as we decided to take a short nap while enjoying the whistle of a bird called the Schoolboy; yes it whistles like a kid and its as melodious as a song. Out of the blue, we are disturbed by the howling of monkeys…dozens of them sitting on tall trees going berserk. We wondered what was wrong and then our guide told us that there is a PREDATOR nearby. The monkeys are warning the jungle!!
Since  the howling of these monkeys was a familiar noise for us we too started paying attention. And then we heard it…the footsteps of something heavy….walking in the bushes. Our guide picks up a long dagger and ushers us to move towards an observation deck. We walk inside to get a panoramic view on the ravine. Nothing! No movement or sound. Our guide decides to go down into the ravine; he says the predator won’t attack with so many people around. We somehow muster enough courage, pick up some sticks and cautiously walk behind him. We hear footsteps on top of the ravine and suddenly there is silence.

We wander around hoping to get a glimpse of the animal but instead come across a carcass of a Bison. It was recently attacked by a tiger a week ago. The sight of bones and dried up skin is a little disturbing and frightening. We quickly get out of the ditch and move towards our room.
By now it was evening and we were waiting for our tea to be served we were shocked to see a huge tusker just meters away from where we were standing. There was panic amongst everyone. We watched the mammal closely, hoping that it keeps its peace. He looks weak, there is dearth of water and food in this jungle. Rainfall has been below average and animals don’t have much food. The elephant lingers on slowly, disappearing into the bushes.
It was night by now..pitch dark and the only light we had was that from our bonfire. Soon we were discussing on how interesting the day had been for us  and how close we came to spotting a predator. I had too many drinks and I head towards the washroom. Its a little far away from the campfire so I grab a torchlight; just in case. I shine it around the area where we heard the footsteps. I see Green Eyes….lurking under a tree. I am scared, too scared to move or call out to my friends. I stand there absolutely still….those eyes focussed on me, not moving.

My friends saw me and they grabbed their torch lights and pointed it towards the jungle in front of us. It looks like a big cat and I am quite sure its a leopard. Our guide comes running down from the pantry and confirms our fears. What separates us from the leopard is about 20 ft of bushes. He slowly moves towards us and disappears. We frantically point the lights around..desperately trying to spot him. We are quickly pushed into one of the rooms by the staff and ordered not to come outside. This is scary…we can hear each others heart beating faster and faster. This is no longer fun; a leopard is quick and agile and can easily overpower us.

Its been two hours since we have been holed up in our rooms. The staff finally comes over and ask us to join them for dinner. Dinner is fast…we gulp it down in a hurry to get back into our rooms! We move in groups, holding hands, and shining the light near the trees. We spot it again; perches this time on top of the tree. On a branch right opposite our room. Its looking at us with those shining big green eyes. It doesn’t even blink once. We all huddle into our beds and soon we have slept!

The next morning is spent talking about our experience and how scared we all were. Our only regret is that we couldn’t capture anything on film; no one thought of getting the camera!!! Since then we have returned to this place every 3 months and spotted a plethora of wildlife; from giant squirrels, to black monkeys, bisons, elephants, hornbills. But the leopard hasn’t come back. But we hope someday it does!