A Week In Retreat

Once upon a time, there was this charming young woman, who came back to her home town in Kerala, after many years in New York. She was passionate about travel and she decided that her work has to be all about travel. She started a boutique travel outfit called Silk Route Escapes that designed unique experiential itineraries for the world traveler. One fine day, while on a boat (but of course), she chanced upon a little island, and spotted the perfect piece of land. She sighed and wished that she could get that perfect piece of land to live on and to work from. And then as her wish turned into firm resolve, she made it happen. She took that perfect piece of land and step-by-step, brick-by-brick, created a sublime abode. And if you thought that this was the happy ending, wait for more. She not only created this beautiful retreat but also opened it up for fellow appreciators of charming spaces, to stay in. And then, the happiest part of the story for me, she invited me to join her and experience the quiet little heaven, that is Kayal.

Maneesha Panicker and I have been in touch since the time Kayal was just an idea. She had 'heard' me exclaim over Kochi, and knew that I would love her little nook on the island of Kakkathuruthu - the Island of Crows.

And what a lovely experience I had! It started with a magical pre-dawn boat ride across the back waters of Lake Vembanand to the secluded shores of the island. The early morning peace and the gentle lull of water was the perfect backdrop to practice the yoga and meditation that my friend and I got initiated into earlier in the week. Simple yet beautifully done up rooms, open air bathrooms, traditional Kerala architecture, restored antique furniture, vintage pictures on the walls, friendly & helpful staff and best of all, a kitchen supervised by Maneesha's mom! With finger licking delicious food being churned out from the kitchen through the day and warm conversations at the dining table, we felt completely at home!   

As the sun set, we decided to take a boat ride to the other side of the island and then walk through the village back to Kayal. The leisurely boat ride was followed by walking through the meandering paths, taking in the local village life and a pit stop at the chai wallah by the shore. I also had to make cat-dog stops to befriend each fur ball that crossed my way. Or not cross my way. I went out of my way to say hello to the cats of Kakkathuruthu, and well, they weren't very impressed by my friendly overtures, as you can see from the pic below. Balan, on the other hand, our cheerful boat man, regaled us with local tales and ramped us up on the local flora and fauna.

I am now back home, after two superb days at Kayal, and am yet to get over the Kerala hangover. The good part (yes, the good stuff just doesn't end!) about Kayal Island Retreat is that it's a quick thirty minute drive away from Kochi. And Kochi being one of my favorite cities, I know that I am going to back very soon to this Island of Crows and again enjoy the amazing hospitality at Kayal. A shout out to the team at Kayal, Rupa, Maneesha and a big thank you hug to Maneesha's mom ~ I now have a second home in Kerala! :)

Here's how you can get to Kayal and find more info:

Kayal Island Retreat | On Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

~ And then there was also Coimbatore & Kochi ~

My travel last week actually started with Coimbatore. My friend and I went to the Isha Yoga Center and spent three intensive days at the retreat. It was an unique experience and I loved the fact that apart from the yoga & meditation, we got to do so many outdoor activities, along with a bunch of fellow Damn-will-I-ever-learn-how-to-meditate enthusiasts. Walks in the foothills of Velliangiri hills, treks in the surrounding forest and a thorough pounding beneath the cold waterfall located deep in the forest complemented perfectly the physically & emotionally intense Yoga & Meditation sessions. I have come back rejuvenated with the resolve to continue the practice. Though my boy cat seems to take a personal affront to my doing the cat pose and every morning along with the yoga, I also practice hand to paw combat to ward off his attack on my legs & arms! Clearly, my cat doesn't like me all calm and zen.

And how could I go south and not spend atleast a few hours in my favorite city - Kochi! As I drove around Jew Town and the Fort Kochi area, just a few hours in hand before we caught the evening flight back home, I spotted old favorites & new boutiques, cafes and galleries. I caught up with my friend & midnight badminton partner (story for another time), the very talented corporate chef at Malabar Escapes, over a fabulous lunch of tapas and chilled white wine. And as promised, I shared snippets from the entire trip over at instagram, as it happened!

I can go on and on about this trip of mine, but I need to get up and start packing, for I am traveling again tomorrow morning. I will be back with you, later in the week. Till then, see you here, here and there!

[Images: All mine. An Indian Summer]

Oh Bangalore!

~ The Tamarind Tree ~

It was a searing hot May day when I got an email from The Tamarind Tree, inviting me to experience their beautiful property in Bangalore. Having already heard many a complimentary things about them, I was very happy to accept the gracious invitation. And in spite of a ridiculously packed month, I was able to work with the lovely Nishi of The Tamarind Tree, who organized everything so smoothly, for me to visit them in the last week of May.  

And what a trip it turned out to be! It began with the warmest of welcomes at The Tamarind Tree, where I got to meet the young team who are now managing the property. You know how there are places that feel like an oasis in the middle of a city and the moment you step into one, you automatically breathe in deep and feel totally relaxed? The Tamarind Tree is exactly like that. It's antique wooden doors shut out the noise of the city as soon as you walk in. As I toured the property, it felt like each pillar, each vessel, every sculpture and every tree had a story to tell. As we sat down for a delicious lunch, I came to know that this beautiful five acres of land used to be a paddy field many decades ago. And then it was a warm home, a home that over the last 22 years built an enviable collection of antiques and artefacts from the South of India. These antiques are now spread over the property and add to the unique charm and character of this place. As the demand for hosting intimate weddings and events at The Tamarind Tree started growing within the circle of family and friends of the home owners, they decided to lease out the venue to the current management, who now expertly manage the property for hosting truly unique weddings. I can't wait to see what comes up next as the new team is very keen to preserve and maintain the current character while bringing in new ideas to allow the venue to host not just weddings but also exclusive cultural evenings and soirees.  

The Tamarind Tree takes on a magical hue as night descends. Twinkling fairy lights, diyas, flowers, music and if a wedding ceremony is taking place, then joyous festivities! The Tamarind Tree has hosted many a beautiful weddings with ceremonies from different regions of the country and the world. It is rapidly becoming one of the most sought after venue for couples who are looking for an unique ambiance and a memorable venue. The character of the place, so wonderfully captured by wedding photographers, is as warm and homely as it is fabulous.   

~ Basava Ambara ~ 

My next stop was at Basava Ambara, the splendid boutique located in one of Bangalore's oldest neighborhoods, Basavanagudi. It is run and curated by Aravind Kashyap and Venkataram Reddy, who is also the owner of The Tamarind Tree. Housed in the outhouse of a sprawling heritage home, Basava Ambara has a hand picked collection from a cross section of designers, craftspeople, textile connoisseurs and antiques sourced over the years by Venkataram. Over a healthy lunch of farm fresh salads at The Rouge Elephant, Venky, Aravind and Cynthia - the lovely creative manager at the store, and I chatted about all things creative and beautiful. It's amazing how good food and good conversation can be so engrossing that you don't even notice how much time has passed!  

I, of course, couldn't help but go back to the stunning antique jewelry at the store and tried on as many as I could, just a tad short of looking like a Christmas tree. It was with great effort that I took the jewels off and handed them back. But I know where I will be headed when I decide to treat myself to some antique sparkles :)

~ And then some more ~

The rest of the week was spent in a whirlwind of catch-ups - old friends, ex-colleagues, friends-of-friends now turned friends, the many lunches, dinners and drinks, the 12:00am creative brainstorming inspired by the storm outside and the wine inside, the 2:00am gossip/singing/crying/laughing sessions, again inspired by the thunder outside and oh-my-god so much wine inside! I/We hopped bars, all in happy anticipation of an upcoming birthday, experimented with Kokum cocktail recipes one late night at an organic farm, with four large dogs and one tiny cat keeping a watch over us as we downed each of our experiments. Inspite of all the intoxicant induction, I also got more work done; I visited a wonderful textile studio and factory and spent hours selecting fabric. This place is a linen heaven and as much as I would like to shout the name from rooftops, the owner has requested me to keep quiet about it, for now. He is gearing up to open a retail outlet in sometime, and for now, I guess I was lucky to have the opportunity to spend time looking through his fabulous collection and making my pick for the wildlife project that I am working on. And as promised, I live blogged it all people! Shared the goodies over at my instagram account as it happened.   

 

Oh, and the grand finale of the trip was, my first ever football match! Not as a player, peeps, not as a player. The closest I can get to the players is that I can now proudly announce that the coach of the Bengaluru FC team is my friend. Ha. But but, what an exhilarating evening it was! I loved the Bangalore crowd! The chants, the flags, the synchronous abuses hurled at the referee ~ all very very loud but not rowdy, at all! It was such a pleasant surprise for someone from the big bad city of Delhi. And then, to complete the football experience, we headed to the local post-match pub in pouring rain and met up with more friends, celebrating a good game. I was one of the boys, in my blue XS BFC jersey, though I zoned out as soon as the technical football talk started. So the boys very kindly made me feel at home and we argued till late in the night about the North-South divide and staked strong claims on Goa and the Himalayas. An eventful end to a wonderful week, and I have to say Thank You Tamarind Tree for pulling me to Bangalore. I will be back...yet another city that I have come to love, not just for it's places and what it has to offer, but also for all the splendid people I met and the friends I made. And the friends I did not get to meet this time, the readers who invited me to visit them, who sent me tips of what to see, where to eat ~ I'll be seeing you soon!    

 

[Image credits: My Images are tagged such; Other images: 2nd & 5th from top: Manoj Masand; 10th & 11th from top: The Tamarind Tree; 12th from top: Tina Nandi]

You'll Find Me..

..In Bangalore 

Next week!

I am in the lovely city of Bangalore next week, at the invite of a breathtakingly beautiful boutique heritage property. I will come back with stories and pretty pictures of all that I experience, and for the first time, will give 'live' blogging a shot over at my Instagram account! So if you would like to see surreptitious pictures of my co-passenger's meals, aesthetically shot pic of my boarding pass, pics of fluffy clouds and a plane wing, my feet as they first touch Bangalore, my first coffee and the first idli of the day at Bangalore...don't hesitate and send me a 'follow' request on Instagram right now! 

And if the above doesn't entice you, sigh, what to do? I WILL have to share pics from this heavenly place where I will be staying, the antiques that I will be marveling at, the boutique shops I will be visiting, the quaint bungalows, the cats I find and tickle, the fabulous textiles and crafts I gorge on, the cafes I visit, the wines I drink, the night sky from an organic farm, the rain...oh, the rain & thunder that I know is waiting for me in the city of Bengaluru. Find it all here :)

I'll be back on the blog in the first week of June

You be good and you take care

Join me on this trip right here, on instagram!

P.S: Thank you so much for your warm messages after the last post. I am doing much better...travel acts like a ninja anti-illness drug and I am back on my feet again! The next few months are all about moves & travel...we are going to go places, my kittens, and puppies! :)

Perfect Hideaway

It's April already, my people!

At the risk of sounding like a broken record and a grandmom

Just where does time fly, man!

Ok alright, so a grandmom won't talk like that

But really! Just where, where does it go?

Allow me to brood over the swift passage of time a tad more

While I hand over these lovely rooms to you

All hand mouse picked from

Perfect Hideaways

This chair above

Isn't it the perfect place to brood?

South Africa,

Here I come!

[All Images: Perfect Hideaways]