The Butterfly Kiss

It was by a happy happenstance that I found myself driving to Sonaugi Homestead in the rich Deodhar forest of Kullu (Himachal Pradesh), adjoining an apple orchard. As we drove out from the town, the valley started opening out and soon we  were driving alongside River Beas. It was one of those moments that you leave both awed and feeling blessed. From some inexplicable reason I began to see the river like a naughty child playing hooky from school, gurgling a song as it dashed away. At certain turns it appeared as if it was winking back at one, thanks to the sunlight breaking into it at certain angles.  Soon the road began to wind up and deeper and deeper we went into the forest area, the views at every turn more spectacular than before. The ring of mountains above with snow caps,  the towering trees, the complete absence of artificial noise except for the minute motor(engine) murmurings was, for lack of better phrase, one-of-a-kind experience. 

The road started climbing down a little and soon we could see Sonaugi Homestead below. Ok, this is no place where you park your car at the portico and have the staff running out to help get your luggage down and all that jazz. Here you hold on fast as the SUV manoeuvres its way down a rather narrow and rough terrain road. After a certain turn you know it would be foolhardy to drive down further ( all prayers won't work either), so you get out and start descending. Something at the back of the your mind reminds you that on the way back, you have to climb up!

Picturesque would be a bland word to describe Sonaugi Homestead, its surroundings and its ambience. A stone and wood construction, it is a beautiful blend of Himachali and European architecture and elements. 

How Sonaugi Homestead came about is local legend. It can even be called a love story in a way. An Italian Eris  Binda, his wife Franchesca and their five children moved into the area and the family began building the house. It is a house built with love and as the family increased, so did the rooms. A linear-ish structure, it is full of quaint crannies, nooks, fireplaces and all that is charming and all that should be in a mountain home. You can almost see the Binda family sitting around a roaring fire, roasting apples and drinking mulled wine while a pizza sizzles in the wood fired oven.But things don't always go as intended and somewhere it changed hands and thankfully into hands that turned the Binda residence into a homestead. There have been additions, renovations, putting in of bathrooms with all the mod cons and above all, a whole new separate structure that is dining hall cum kitchen cum library cum common area - all done in perfect sync with the original structure. There is not a single jarring note. In the dining area the centre of attraction (literally!) is the stone fire pit around whose step you can sit and either sit hypnotized by the warming flames, ( have you noticed that most of us when sitting/standing around a wood/coal fire seem to be for strange reason unblinkingly gaze at the fire!) or read a book, sing a song or simply chill. And while at it, do just check the unusual window blinds that lets in slivers of sunlight into the hall in an interesting pattern - they are made out of dried tree beans!

Near the entrance, one side is the cutest little wooden cottage that looks like it has sprung out of a story book. Rustic, rudimentary and oh so romantic with a baby chimney valiantly throwing up smoke. The pleasant Ashwini Tripathi who runs the show effortlessy, his wife Neha and his cute son Gungun live there while older daugther Soumya is in boarding school in Naggar.  

. 

On a sit out overlooking the dining hall and just outside the stone cottage is the best spot to take a 360 degree view of the homestead and the surrounding areas. Behind, the hills rise up and up like a thick green carpet while ahead and far below flows River Beas. You look around your immediate vicinity where among other things a heavily laden orange tree stands proud, and you are not sure if you are hallucinating. Are those olives hanging on the branches?  Olives in cold Himachal Pradesh? Nah, can't be. It is, says Ashwini. And not just one but two olive trees, Hallelujah!

When you live among and with nature, they say, you learn how to make the best use of it - like discovering rose tea.  When Ashwini's  amiable wife, Neha made the offer came, I wasn't too gung-ho initially because I didn't like the idea of a cuppa redolent with the scent of roses as,  like an ignoramus I thought the rose petals would be mashed/ground or something like that into the tea water. Idiotic me! It turned out to be most amazing concoction of believe it or not - the central pod that remains after a blooming rose wilts and all the petals fall off and a handful of mint leaves. Just that. I was told that all it required was an adult fistful of the pods and mint leaves boiled together and left to infuse for sometime. The tea was the best I ever had , a bit of natural sweetness and a wonderful tangy touch. Neha needs to market that.

Sometimes you can have a little too much of good things happening to you. After the overdose of natural beauty, the lolling in the sun, the rose mint tea,  the yummy home cooked wholesome meal, the bag of juicy golden lemons plucked off the tree - came the kiss of the butterfly, though on my dirty sneakers. A grey-orange-black beauty chose to flirt around with my right sneaker for a long time and untimely decided to plonk itself on the crown of the sneaker as if it had finally come home to roost. Ah, if only one could have stayed put too. 

If you are looking to escape the mad mad mad materialistic world, snuggle in nature's lap and blow bubbles in the air or do whatever you feel like call Ashwini at +91-8894924259 or email ashwini@sonaugi.com. But remember this is NOT your typical tourist place.