I remember sitting on my Grandmothers lap listening to stories of the good old days when there were no high-rises, no traffic and the view consisted of green fields as far as the eye could see.
Consider it a blessing or a curse but this is the memory Our Native Village awakened in me. It made me want to take my foot off the pedal and just gaze into the fields leading nowhere. I could imagine running a kite through the winds and scrapping my knees as I climbed trees, oblivious to Grandma's disapproving looks trying hard to camouflage her twitching knowing smilesI was young and carefree once again with not a care in the world.
I wanted to fly with the birds and jump into frog ponds with complete abandon. For all those who have forgotten their childhood stories, my recent visit to Our Native Village has made me realise that our grandma's sure knew what they were talking about.
As we leave the pollution and dust of city life far behind (Bangaloreans forgive me, but we must admit that the pure Bangalore of yore is not to be found nowhere) and drive 40 kms towards the unknown, the locale slowly changes from urban claustrophobia to natural beauty. There are fields of grains, coconuts and bananas plantations and no population. There is music in the birdsongs and enchanting rhythms in the croaks of frogs and crickets. This is Our Native Village where a return to Mother Nature is a promise.
CEO Ravi Shankar talks about Anatara Hospitality’s commitment to ECO for the greater common good...
And where else but at Our Native Village will you see all eco-friendly construction material which has been sourced locally. The energy sources are Wind Mills, Solar Panels and Bio Gas Plants. Rain water is harvested and used. All Waste is processed & reused. Each Mural is a hand painted story in itself by local artists for Anantara Hospitality truly believes in development of the local community while preserving traditional arts. All food is organic farm produce. Even room and bathroom amenities are organic, hand-made and natural. Though the pool may look a little green, it is clean and hygienic. Aquatic plants known to de-pollute water are used instead of chemicals like chlorine and alum. These plants 'eat up' all the dirt and oxygenate the water. This 'regeneration pool' concept from Austria is a first of its kind in India.
And whatever happened to the air-conditioning. All the room bricks are handmade using the locally available soil. The roof panels have been prefabricated on the site itself. The rooms have narrow and broad windows strategically angled westwards to capture the Westerlies. All this goes towards ensuring a healthier way of life with natural insulations against heat and cold.
