“Individuals come right here to seek 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. Nevertheless, what actually distinguishes it’s the deeply ingrained dedication to sustainability and reverence for nature exhibited by each the homestay and its hosts.

“After I purchased this land, historically, there’s a puja that’s alleged to be executed earlier than beginning the development. Nevertheless, 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 center,” says Prachi.

The dream of a lifetime

Earlier than establishing the homestay, Alka devoted a long time of her life to the social sector. She saved up throughout this time to remodel 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 folks might come, chill out, and discover peace,” she shares.

An ardent traveller, Alka discovered the proper companion in her daughter, Prachi. “Whereas I liked travelling, my husband held the other 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 certain 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 among the greatest methods to actually perceive a spot,” Alka explains.

In 2014, she lastly determined to begin engaged on constructing her homestay ‘Avabodha’ — the Sanskrit phrase Avabodha means ‘awakening’. “I travelled throughout the nation from Uttarakhand to Himachal to seek out the proper piece of land, whereas it was proper right here in Panchgani all alongside!” she says.

Prachi went to a boarding college in Panchgani and had at all times been in love with the hill station. So when Alka was taking a look at locations, she appeared for land in Panchgani too. “Each time I went to go to her, we might 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.

“After I first noticed the land and the view it supplied, I used to be stunned. I’ve by no means seen a spot this stunning. There was one thing concerning the place that stored luring me again. It was like nature had chosen me to point out it to the world whereas preserving its sanctity,” she provides.

“So I bought the piece of land and commenced my journey in direction of my dream house,” she says.

It took almost 4 years for Alka to finish the property, and so they 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.

Apart from this, Avabodha additionally hosts varied 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 filled 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 observe 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 the moment,” informs Prachi.

Whenever you keep at Avabodha, what you get up to are the misty hills, the chirping of bugs, and chicken songs. “We now have plenty of peacocks and birds coming into our backyard, which is why we don’t permit pets on the property at present,” 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 based mostly on elements like weekends, vacationer seasons, and holidays. On common, all the villa prices Rs 21,000 per evening, shares Alka, and the {couples} obtain a 50 % 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, the whole lot was an incredible expertise. To say that the meals was good and the service by Kalpana and Anil (caretakers) was superb could be an understatement.”

The homestay serves solely vegetarian meals cooked by their caretaker, Kalpana, whom they take into account to be the “greatest prepare dinner” on this planet. “She is superb, 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 concerning the meals on the keep as it’s a totally vegetarian place. However I’m not exaggerating once I say that vegetarian meals has by no means tasted higher! Apart from the meals, I liked how a lot nature was round me once I was staying on the property. It was a really superb expertise.”

When requested about how they’re retaining their property eco-friendly, Alka delves into the small print of how the property was constructed with a sustainable philosophy from the outset.

“After I was beginning the development of the property I had the best problem — discovering an eco-friendly architect who suits into my finances. After looking out so much, I discovered one in Sataram,” she shares. “I needed to make use of mud for the development of my house. Nevertheless, the place didn’t have sufficient clay within the soil to carry it collectively. So we needed to swap 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 begin quickly,” she provides.

Wanting again at her stunning house and all of the reminiscences the duo has collected over the previous few years, Alka displays that it wasn’t all rainbows and sunshine. When she determined to begin on the lookout for land and her dream was nearer to actuality, most individuals round her confirmed concern.

“To begin with, 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 family members questioned my determination, however I had a aim in thoughts and was unshakable,” she says.

When Alka was shopping for the property, she confronted plenty of resistance throughout the neighborhood. “I used to be a stranger making an attempt to purchase their land and on high of that, a lady. After I could be working with the labourers on the positioning, males from the village would come and declare that ‘you can not do that’.”

“The property is kind of remoted, and typically I’d be on their lonesome with some males engaged on the property. This actually was a matter of concern for my household,” she recollects.

Nevertheless, 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 help system at Avabodha. She turned my approach of creating my place locally,” 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 preserve it protected,” she informs.

“I’d say go for it girls, nothing can cease you in case you have the need to do it,” she says.

On working along with her mom, Prachi muses, “It is extremely uncommon when two relations come collectively to run a enterprise. Between my mom and I, there’s a enormous generational hole however we have now completely different views and concepts. Nevertheless, what bonds us collectively is the willingness to study from one another. It has been a really superb 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)