“Individuals come right here to search out themselves,” was one of many first issues Alka Shesha, the founding father of Avabodha Homestay, informed me once we started discussing her brainchild.
Nestled amidst the serene hills of Panchgani and overlooking the majestic Krishna river, the homestay exudes tranquillity. Nonetheless, what really distinguishes it’s the deeply ingrained dedication to sustainability and reverence for nature exhibited by each the homestay and its hosts.
“Once I purchased this land, historically, there’s a puja that’s presupposed to be completed earlier than beginning the development. Nonetheless, we determined to honour nature as a substitute and vowed to keep up it simply as it’s,” Alka tells The Higher India.
Co-founded by Alka and her daughter Prachi Chaphekar, the branding on the property is managed by Prachi, whereas Alka oversees operations and different duties. “She is the physique and soul of Avabodha whereas I’m the guts,” says Prachi.
The dream of a lifetime
Earlier than establishing the homestay, Alka devoted many years of her life to the social sector. She saved up throughout this time to rework her ardour for serving to others discover themselves right into a actuality. “I at all times nurtured a dream of opening my very own house the place individuals might come, calm down, and discover peace,” she shares.
An ardent traveller, Alka discovered the right companion in her daughter, Prachi. “Whereas I cherished travelling, my husband held the alternative view. So, more often than not, it was simply Prachi and me,” she reminisces.
Collectively, the mother-daughter duo explored the world extensively. “One factor I at all times made positive of whereas travelling was to remain in homestays. I’m the form of one that likes to immerse myself within the native tradition, and staying in homestays is likely one of the finest methods to actually perceive a spot,” Alka explains.
In 2014, she lastly determined to start out engaged on constructing her homestay ‘Avabodha’ — the Sanskrit phrase Avabodha means ‘awakening’. “I travelled throughout the nation from Uttarakhand to Himachal to search out the right piece of land, whereas it was proper right here in Panchgani all alongside!” she says.
Prachi went to a boarding faculty in Panchgani and had at all times been in love with the hill station. So when Alka was locations, she seemed for land in Panchgani too. “At any time when I went to go to her, we’d discover the place. I’d even keep again and discover the hill station alone. This made me fall in love with the property much more with each go to,” says Alka.
“Once I first noticed the land and the view it supplied, I used to be stunned. I’ve by no means seen a spot this lovely. There was one thing in regards to the place that saved luring me again. It was like nature had chosen me to indicate it to the world whereas preserving its sanctity,” she provides.
“So I bought the piece of land and started my journey in direction of my dream residence,” she says.
It took almost 4 years for Alka to finish the property, they usually opened their doorways to visitors in 2019. Since then, the mother-daughter duo have hosted quite a few artist retreats and greater than 1,000 visitors of their homestay.
The sweetness of doing nothing
Positioned in a secluded area in Panchgani, a typical query that Alka and Prachi are sometimes requested is ‘Are there any actions to do close to the villa?’ “I inform my visitors that there aren’t any actions. A lot of them are caught off guard by this response, however I do that in an effort to make them perceive the significance of doing nothing,” says Alka.
Whereas the property presents quite a few participating actions, equivalent to gardening, pottery, star gazing, and bonfires, the duo encourages their visitors to do nothing as a substitute.
“There’s a sweetness in doing nothing, which most individuals don’t learn about. We encourage our visitors to take a seat on the balcony or in frequent areas, sip a glass of wine, and simply benefit from the view. Hearken to the music of nature and indulge within the meals made for them,” she says.
Moreover this, Avabodha additionally hosts numerous yoga and artist retreats the place artists are welcome to do soul-searching on the property. “I’m an artist myself, and the villa is stuffed with work given to us by our visitors from the artist retreats. Earlier than the pandemic, we didn’t have Wi-Fi on the property. We left a notice for our visitors to speak to one another and have a real off-the-grid expertise with none web. We don’t have a tv even at this time,” informs Prachi.
While you keep at Avabodha, what you get up to are the misty hills, the chirping of bugs, and fowl songs. “We now have numerous peacocks and birds coming into our backyard, which is why we don’t permit pets on the property at the moment,” she provides.
The property has three bedrooms — a corridor and a kitchen together with a bonfire space, a hammock space, and a backyard. The price of staying varies primarily based on components like weekends, vacationer seasons, and holidays. On common, the whole villa prices Rs 21,000 per night time, shares Alka, and the {couples} obtain a 50 p.c low cost on their keep.
One of many clients, R M Rao, who stayed on the property, says, “It was like I used to be at His (God’s) abode. For the primary time in my life, I heard silence — loud and clear. The sky, the house, every thing was an amazing expertise. To say that the meals was good and the service by Kalpana and Anil (caretakers) was wonderful can be an understatement.”
The homestay serves solely vegetarian meals cooked by their caretaker, Kalpana, whom they contemplate to be the “finest cook dinner” on this planet. “She is wonderful, and our visitors by no means cease praising her,” states Prachi.
Speaking about how the meals is so tasty and organically grown, Balaraj Khakar, who stayed on the villa on his birthday, says, “I’m a hardcore non-vegetarian and was anxious in regards to the meals on the keep as it’s a absolutely vegetarian place. However I’m not exaggerating once I say that vegetarian meals has by no means tasted higher! Moreover the meals, I cherished how a lot nature was round me once I was staying on the property. It was a very wonderful expertise.”
When requested about how they’re conserving their property eco-friendly, Alka delves into the small print of how the property was constructed with a sustainable philosophy from the outset.
“Once I was beginning the development of the property I had the best problem — discovering an eco-friendly architect who matches into my finances. After looking out loads, I discovered one in Sataram,” she shares. “I needed to make use of mud for the development of my residence. Nonetheless, the place didn’t have sufficient clay within the soil to carry it collectively. So we needed to change to laterite stone.”
“We now have no columns within the construction and metal is used to the minimal amount. Each bone in our house is in alignment with nature. We additionally compost all of our moist waste and use it as manure for our natural backyard. We even have photo voltaic heaters, and the home is designed for rainwater harvesting, which we’re planning to start out quickly,” she provides.
Trying again at her lovely residence and all of the recollections the duo has collected over the previous few years, Alka displays that it wasn’t all rainbows and sunshine. When she determined to start out searching for land and her dream was nearer to actuality, most individuals round her confirmed concern.
“Initially, I used to be about to throw in all my life financial savings, and that was a giant threat. The thought {that a} lady may have the ability to do that all on her personal was unimaginable to many. A lot of my kinfolk questioned my determination, however I had a objective in thoughts and was unshakable,” she says.
When Alka was shopping for the property, she confronted numerous resistance inside the neighborhood. “I used to be a stranger attempting to purchase their land and on prime of that, a girl. Once I can be working with the labourers on the location, males from the village would come and declare that ‘you can’t do that’.”
“The property is kind of remoted, and generally I’d be on their own with some males engaged on the property. This actually was a matter of concern for my household,” she remembers.
Nonetheless, none of those points deterred her from constructing her dream home. “It was round this time that I met Kalpana who’s now our caretaker and assist system at Avabodha. She grew to become my manner of creating my place in the neighborhood,” she says.
Slowly, the neighborhood began to just accept her and the homestay. “Now, they transcend their means to assist me run the place and maintain it protected,” she informs.
“I’d say go for it girls, nothing can cease you in case you have the desire to do it,” she says.
On working along with her mom, Prachi muses, “It is rather uncommon when two members of the family come collectively to run a enterprise. Between my mom and I, there’s a enormous generational hole however we’ve got totally different views and concepts. Nonetheless, what bonds us collectively is the willingness to study from one another. It has been a very wonderful expertise,” she says.
For those who want to expertise ‘nothingness’ at Avabodha Homestay, you’ll be able to guide the place right here.
(Edited by Pranita Bhat)