Wayanad- The Verdant Paradise

My last holiday (read short getaway) was in Wayanad, Kerala early March this year. This green paradise in south India had been on my bucket list for years now (ever since my law school days in Bangalore). So this year, when we were making plans to spend my birthday week in Goa, I decided to swap it with Wayanad instead. And it turned out to be incredible barring the onset of Covid-19 in Kerela, while we were there.

Since we had just three nights and four days in hand, we decided not to include anything 'touristy' in our itinerary. Some of my past travel experiences have made me realise that when you have limited time at hand, it’s best to not squeeze in too many things in your plan and instead just focus on what interests you. In any case, I have always believed in exploring a place over just ticking off the tourist spots when I travel. 

We, for one just wanted to soak in Wayanad our way and have a laid back holiday in the lap of nature. So we booked ourselves in a property called Abad Brookside, Lakkidi in Vythiri, Wayanad. This resort is owned by Abad Hotels & Resorts Group and has its hotels and resorts in various parts of Kerela.  The property is located on a hill with a brook literally passing through it. It is a sizable property with different types of cottages spread across the resort offering different views- some with the garden view, the others brook side and some offering both. The cottages are extremely beautiful and spacious with distinctive aesthetics, and we got quite lucky as the Manager very kindly put us up in their best cottage to make my birthday memorable.     

Speaking of the property- it has a nice in-house restaurant overlooking the brook which is a plus, considering the food served and ambiance is pretty good, especially if you don’t wish to venture out much and leisure is ruling your mind. Besides, if you are planning a stay as short as ours’, you will sail through without much boredom in terms of variety. Our package included breakfast at the restaurant. While the buffet spread was not extra ordinary each morning, the quality of the food served and the staffs’ behavior more than made up for it.   

The property also has a cozy little swimming pool at an elevation right above the brook with woods all around, so don’t miss out on a short nevertheless a scenic swim amidst the natural splendor of Lakkidi. Since the property is large in terms of outdoor space, it provides ample space for walks/jogs, outdoor badminton, volley ball. There is also a library adjacent to the resort lobby to laze around with books and a gorgeous view, and a game room with indoor games such as chess, carom board and other board games. Essentially, there are plenty of recreational activities to keep you occupied within the property, and then there are some beautiful spots that can be hiked around the property. These hikes however must be undertaken before the sunset, keeping in mind the movement of wildlife, especially wild elephants in the area post sunset. We went hiking twice during our three day stay here- the first one was an uphill hike leading to a spectacular sunset point atop a hill and the second was an easy breezy one to a signature Lakkidi lush green tea estate. The resort also offers the much popular Kerala massages which you may want to try during your stay here. 

So any of you interested in a short idyllic vacation within the comforts of a property in this beautifully forested region, Abad Brookside is certainly a good stay option. The property aside, Wayanad is known for its wildlife sanctuary, camping/hiking trails, breathtaking waterfalls, ancient caves, flora and fauna. Our holiday was too short to experience all of these but if you have the time, go splash your feet in the celebrated waterfalls for sure and don't miss out on the safaris. These are due for our next trip.

Lastly, being a foodie I cannot go wrong with this one- do try some random eateries in Kozhikode during your transit. I promise you won't regret it. Also, you can never have enough of cakes and cookies from the bakeries on the way to Wayanad. They are absolutely scrumptious!

Jaltarang Villa- Spring in Summer

So this post is about an impulsive road trip that we went on over a long weekend in March of 2018. Most people I know, plan long weekends in advance but this one was one of those absolute last minute spontaneous getaways and I am sure, those of you who have traveled impulsively know the thrill of it.

After returning from work on a Friday night, I started looking for places we could drive to for two nights over the long weekend. Within half an hour of googling destinations around Bombay, I realised that I was done traveling to the popular destinations around Bombay and that I would rather do something offbeat. And while I was at it, I came across this beautiful house overlooking a lake, appropriately named "Jaltarang Villa", approximately 8.5 hours away from Bombay.

Well, there are moments in life when you instantly fall in love with something, this was one of those for me. I didn't want to look at any more options after spotting Jaltarang Villa, online. It was too late to make any bookings online but we tried our luck in successfully finding and getting through the Owner's number late that night- Dr. Khalid Shaikh, who was kind enough to let us come over the very next day.

The next morning we started driving towards Ratnagiri, the district where Jaltarang is located. The drive was pretty smooth barring a few stretches here and there but Dr. Shaikh was constantly in touch with us and guided us quite well to the place. We drove leisurely, stopping at a few places to buy some stuff, relish Konkan food at recommended eateries on the way and grab tea every few hours. Finally we made it to Jaltarang Villa early evening, around 5 pm. The last mile connectivity to the property is slightly deceptive and yet most exciting. Not sure if (but I hope) it's still the same.

Jaltarang is cozy and pretty as a picture of course, but what makes it even more gorgeous is the nature and the tranquility engulfing it. It falls in the category of places that manage to live up to the hype and expectation it creates when you browse it online. We were thrilled to be treated with some hot masala chai in the balcony as we entered the place, which also happens to be my favourite spot at Jaltarang. The sunset is spectacular from the balcony fronting the lake with the unceasing breeze.

A lot has to be said about the way the Villa has been designed. Structurally, the lake view has been utilised extremely well. You get to see the lake, both from the living room and the bedroom- so much so that it could pass off as a glasshouse from certain angles. The property retains a unique charm in its simplicity which continues to stay with you long after you've left the place. On the inside, it reflects streaks of creativity well implemented on its walls, ceilings, and corners, giving it a bohemian feel. The place is done up optimally- It can be a great reading or meditation place to instill inspiration in you and a phenomenal party place to make some great memories, at the same time. I have always believed that any space is reflective of the person you are, only to find out that this place has been designed by Dr. Shaikh's daughter who is in the creative field.

There are a handful of outdoor activities that one could indulge in while staying here- you could go for nature walks in the morning, jam by the lake with your folks, hike a few hills around and go rafting. Rafts are made available at the property upon request and availability. 

They say, "It's the people that make the place." The quote certainly holds true for our stay here at Jaltarang Villa. Not only is this place strikingly scenic but it also offers extraordinary hospitality to its guests. We were treated with some lip-smacking home-cooked food during our stay. Both, vegetarian and non-vegetarian food options are available at the property and we loved the food so much that we tried both the options on different days. Dr. Shaikh is a wonderful host. He ensured that we were comfortable right from the time we entered the property. He made time to chat with us and sought our feedback before we left. Bhau, the caretaker, who lives at the property and takes care of the guests is extremely sweet and serviceable. He makes awesome tea and was always ready to pamper us with his tea making skills.

Jaltarang Villa comprises of two stand alone structures, both facing the lake and can accommodate 8-10 people comfortably. Dr. Sheikh and his daughter were planning to expand it further when we visited. It is an ideal place for people looking to spend some quiet time amidst the nature. You could plan a long weekend and spend some quality time with your partner, family or a bunch of friends. We were told that the best time to visit the place is during the monsoons, we loved it in March nevertheless.

Whether you wish to curl up with a book, go on a writer's retreat, paint, meditate, go hiking, soak up the sun or just sit and gaze at the stunning view around, Jaltarang offers it all. And yes, don't leave the place until you've indulged in some Konkan curries. 

Be that reason

It's incredible, how an absolute stranger can lift up your spirits and enliven you.

I have been extremely sick for last 3 days now. Taking 3 days of leave and knowing that tomorrow would make it 4 in a row, after having completed only 3 months in an organisation qualifies the term 'extremely sick' I guess. Today was worse- I didn't have anyone around to help. So in the evening, out of sheer helplessness, I decided to walk up to the ENT specialist's clinic that my doctor had referred me to this morning, collect my blood test reports from the diagnostic center and buy the prescribed medicines from the medical store. For clarity sake alone, all of these places are in the vicinity of my house. However, when you have fever and severe throat pain giving you company in walking, you feel like the puller of a hand rickshaw in Calcutta on an endless journey with two lethal customers accompanying you! This was my struggle story of the day.

Now the happy one- The medical store was my last stop before finally getting home. I was already gasping for breath and stopping at several places after collecting my blood reports from the diagnostic center. By the time I reached the medical store, I was completely enervated. Strangely enough, no one seemed to notice despite so many people swarming the store. All the store guys were busy attending to customers and I was (despite the agitation and exhaustion) patiently waiting for my turn. Suddenly, the gentleman standing next to me gave me a warm smile and I smiled back. He was a Sardar in his sixties perhaps- quite fit and well dressed for his age. He sensed that I was in bad shape and very politely asked- 'you look unwell?' I replied, 'yes, I am running a high fever and have a severe throat pain', to which he remarked, 'the weather is quite bad these days'. Although I am not someone to indulge in small talks often, I couldn't stop myself from asking him- 'how about you?' after seeing the bulk of medicines he was getting billed. To which, he replied with a gentle smile by placing his hand on the left side of his chest- 'I have given it to someone and now it hurts'. I couldn't help but smile at that achingly beautiful expression. Just before he left the store, he wished me a speedy recovery and here I am writing my first post of 2016.

"Be the reason someone smiles today"- I was reminded of this quote after returning home this evening. I realised the enormous power we are all blessed with to be able to make a difference in someone's life, if only we cared enough. 

Cheers to that power!

My new found happiness

I am told that no matter what profession, every now and then, there comes a phase in life when life becomes droning and wearisome. Lets just say that I was in that phase for over a few months recently, which meant I would not be too upbeat about my life, find a thousand reasons to crib about possibly everything happening around and basically be disinterested (if I could use that as an umbrella term to describe how pathetic the phase was!). I would be lethargic and low perpetually without really knowing the exact cause of it. 

Being absolutely fed up of feeling this way and endeavoring to analyze and over analyse the problem for days, I decided to do something about it. I took the onus upon myself to change it (in hindsight) may be subconsciously if not consciously enough. :)

I decided to get back to playing badminton, which was a sport extremely close to my heart as a kid...have lots of pleasant memories of the everyday badminton sessions we used to have in my apartment compound with my childhood (and often my dad's) friends. (Yup, you got it right- that was precisely to indicate how cool a kid I was!) The decision was easy, however, the execution not! And no, not because I was at my lethargic best in the phase but because I no longer stay in my hometown, which offered me the luxury to play any sport with more than ample space right below my apartment. Yes, my definition of the term "luxury" has been altered for sure after living in Mumbai. So after much research, I finally found a place I could play badminton at, without digging deep into my pocket...and oh what a decision that was! It actually brought back my lost enthusiasm to a great extent. Though it hasn't been long enough yet, I definitely feel happier and a lot more energetic now. It has been a while I remember being as excited to start my day. Who ever knew that two games of badminton every day had the potential to make my life so much better and fun...well I most definitely didn't. 

So while here's to badminton (raising a toast, literally), the essence of this post is not so much about badminton, really! It's about finding yourself happiness!-If badminton could be my new found happiness, perhaps ............ could be yours? It may after all, be a good idea to give that blank ("happiness blank" as I call it) a thought the next time you feel down and out. Your happiness blank could be filled with absolutely anything- a long lost hobby, a completely new activity/course you would like to try your hands on, something you have always wanted to pursue but couldn't for whatever reasons, or resuming something you know has the potential to make you happy. "Happiness is a choice. And it's free. Play on." 

It's time I talked about my new companion

My colleagues (absolutely aghast on knowing about it) would often ask me - "how can you not have it till now?", my friends would make statements like- "one cannot live without it! It falls in the 'must to have' category and not 'good to have' and sooner than later my parents too started insisting that I have it.

"Come March and I will buy it", "come April and I will buy it", "come May and I will buy it", "come June and I will most definitely buy it" (I would say this to myself at the beginning of every month)...then came July and I finally bought it! 

As someone who has not watched enough of television ("tv") during childhood, the idea of 'it' being an absolute necessity never really convinced me. So when I started living on my own and completed a year of doing so, people around me, who initially wondered and eventually questioned my reluctance in buying a tv, finally got down to convincing me the need of it. I am almost certain that I sound like this boring soul who is anti-tv but quite honestly that was never the case. In fact, I must confess that I am the kinds who loves going to theater and watching movie every weekend. I also relish watching tv when I am home in Jaipur with my folks but somehow I never felt any pressing need to have it for myself...partly because I have never really religiously followed/been addicted to a sitcom/program on tv and partly because I end up finding ample things to keep myself entertained. Yes, there were times when I missed watching a certain talk show or a certain debate or a certain award show, however the craving never peaked enough to drive me to check out a television store, until the horrible rains of Mumbai refused to stop, keeping me away from my sources of entertainment. And so I decided that it was time to get myself a companion to give me company indoors during the maddening Mumbai rains. Since then, I must admit, my tv has been my greatest companion and has had a huge role to play in my daily life (if you know what I mean!), so much so, that sometimes my day feels incomplete without watching it.

And that calls for giving the devil its due- I cannot thank the 'maddening Mumbai rains' enough for triggering the purchase! ;)

The "visiting a book store" effect

Book stores are certainly one of those few and rare places where time flies faster than the best of Boeings! Well, day before yesterday was my third visit to a book store in last ten days and for once I was not too thrilled about the visit. Alright...lets admit! It is way too hard to be gifting books and resisting the temptation of buying one for yourself! At least I know for myself, how difficult it was to kill that natural urge of buying books (whether or not you have the time to read it being immaterial) during each of my visits in the last ten days!

So I happened to miss my cousin's birthday and since I was visiting her in the succeeding week I decided to take a book for her which was long over due. Being an avid reader, I couldn't resist buying one for my younger cousin as well. While I was in the process of deciding which book to pick up for my younger cousin, I realised that there is something absolutely charming about visiting a book store! It has the power to engross you like you had nothing else to do in life and as if, all that really mattered was romancing the books indefinitely. I entered the bookstore knowing absolutely well in my head which book I had to buy for my cousin and also that I had just about half an hour to spare in the book store, considering how packed my day was and yet I managed to unknowingly stretch it by an hour and a half. And no, I did not buy any for myself this time around, if that's what you are interested in knowing. (though in order to achieve that, I had to constantly remind myself of the 15 odd books stacked up on my book shelf which are yet to be read.- courtesy: one such "visiting a book store" effect of course, if you know what I mean! :D) So well, despite not having picked any book for myself, I openly exercised the freedom of romancing a hundred books for more than two hours and left only after suffering from a panic attack caused due to the numerous calls being made to me for knowing my whereabouts. However, the time spent there sure made my day a lot more productive - huh...whoever thought romancing at a book store was not productive enough!

Guess who I had as my guest at 2 in the morning!

Easy...easy! Before you start to wonder who it was, allow me to disappoint you, it was no celebrity, however it sure deserves a mention on my blog more than a celebrity does, perhaps.

So last evening I got back from work around 7:30 in the evening, which was followed by my usual chores of the day - cooking, washing dishes, making bed, reading etc. For some reason I was feeling physically exhausted and dosed off around 9 unknowingly, with the newspaper I was reading, as my companion. I don't remember the last time I slept so peacefully and so early...it almost felt like I was intoxicated and put to sleep. Mommy called and I rambled something in my unconscious state and hung up. She got a little concerned as I never hit the bed so early, exceptions apart (which she is usually aware of). A friend called and I loosely remember rejecting his call. Mommy called again after an hour, only to hear me ramble yet again. Apparently, I told her something to this effect- "I ain't sleeping mamma, I'll wake up in half an hour and then sleep", to which she replied- I know you are very sleepy, at least turn off the lights and then sleep. I said, will do and slept again obviously without bothering to turn off the lights, thinking I will wake up in some time. And yes, that 'some time' happened to be around 2 in the morning, when someone barged into my house absolutely uninvited to freak the hell out of me.

FLASHBACK: I am cozily sleeping on my bed. I don't know exactly for how long I had been hearing the shrill 'mew-mew' while in deep slumber, totally discarding it, thinking it to be a dream. After hearing it consistently for 3-4 minutes, I open my eyes and realize that I could hear it as clearly. I turn to scream AAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaa (as shrill as the mews if not more), absolutely aghast to see a big cat sitting at less than an arm's length from my head. Yes, you read it right- at less than an arm's length, leaving my heart to skip its beat.

Thankfully, it was not a stubborn one and exited swiftly through the window it must have entered from, on hearing me scream. However, the incident left me wakeful with my eyes wide open till 4 am, for I was in sheer disbelief of what had happened. And, I was glad that I had left the lights on, for I wonder what it would be to see a big cat in a pitch dark room, sitting so close to you. 

Well, I generally don't freak out at the sight of animals, in fact I adore them and would love to pet one, but it's one thing to like them generally and another to have them catch you off guard, next to your bed, in the middle of the night when you are fast asleep! C'mon, I know you would agree.