The year was 1290 . A crowd had gathered around a clearing, where broken down pillars marked the presence of an ancient temple, now long gone. A young boy, just 14 years old, leaned against one of those pillars, deep in thought. Then, he began speaking, and the crowd fell silent, listening to his every word. He spoke without any notes, translating the Bhagavat Gita, from Sanskrit, which only the pundits knew, to the language everyone in the village knew and spoke – a variety of Prakrit which developed into the Marathi language. Even as he spoke, one of the men in the audience realized how momentous this event was, and how important this composition would be. He began writing down the words the young boy spoke, and this composition was named by its author and composer, the Bhavartha Deepika – the enlightening meaning (of the Bhagavat Gita). Now, the ancient, holy text, was no longer restricted to the pundits, but accessible to all, understood easily by them, composed as it was, in their...
Our Wayanad trip was entirely planned by Thomas Cook India. So,
when we left, we had no idea where we would be staying. This was a big first
for us, since I am the one who usually makes all the arrangements, and thus know
exactly what to expect. I stubbornly refused to ask details about the
accommodation, trusting that someone as experienced as Thomas Cook would surely
find us the perfect place, preferring to take this trip as it came.
Driving
down from Bangalore, Samhith and I wondered what the hotel / apartment would be
like. We debated over whether it would be in the city or far off, in the
wilderness or a plantation, if it would be like a homestay... you get the
drift. It was only as we approached Kalpetta that we realised that the hotel
would be near the town, and Samhith’s face drooped a little. But then, as our car
followed our escort over winding roads, amidst tall trees and thick
plantations, his face lit up once more, and he eagerly began looking around,
wondering which of the houses/ hotels would turn out to be ours! It was no
wonder then, that this tall green building, towering over the surrounding plantations,
came as a complete surprise!
Misty Hills isn’t like a hotel, but is more of an apartment
complex. It stands at one end of a property, part of which is still the home of
the owner. All around are other private properties, each home more beautiful
than the other. Each house has a plantation, or at least a garden, as does
Misty Hills, adding to the homely atmosphere. Colourful flowers line the
building, offsetting the modern structure, helping it blend in with the
surroundings.
We had a small room, since there were just the two of us,
and though pretty basic in nature, it was comfortable enough for us. The
accommodation wasn’t much to write about, but it was the hospitality which made
our stay there so wonderful.
Our very first evening there, we met the owner as we
wandered around the property, drooling over the jackfruits. The manager came up
and introduced us, and he seemed stunned that I and Samhith were on a trip by
ourselves. He reassured us that we would be perfectly safe, that we could go
wherever we wanted, and that they would make sure our stay was comfortable. And
they stayed true to their word, checking up every now and then, making sure we
had everything we wanted. When the electricity failed a couple of times, they
brought us a battery operated tube light, and got us whatever we wanted to eat
from hotels nearby. Samhith soon became a big fan of the ‘pazham pori’, a type
of banana fritters, a local delicacy.
We weren’t able to taste the home grown jackfruit, but the
day we left, the owner offered to give us one to take home – whole!!! It was a
tempting offer, but one we had to refuse, since we were on our way to Mysore,
and wouldn’t reach home for another week. But he insisted on us taking at least
a small bottle of honey they had just extracted from a hive. We gratefully
accepted that, and now back home, and after tasting it, I am glad I did!
As I mentioned earlier, the property is still rather new, so
everything was bright and clean and new. Maintaining this same level of
cleanliness and neatness in the coming years is indeed a challenge, one I hope
they will live up to. The only change I would love to see would be home cooked
food served in a common area, so we could eat somewhere other than in the room,
and meet other guests. Also, Kerala has such an interesting cuisine, it is
always preferable to eat home cooked food rather than the typical hotel food. These
are only changes I would recommend. As to their hospitality, I hope that never
changes!
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Interesting story! Beautiful place to stay.
ReplyDeletePazham Pori is one of my favourite snacks and I remember gorging on it on a trip by Netravati Express from Trivandrum to Mumbai :-)
ReplyDeleteI have one observation on the architecture of Misty Hills: isn't it quite different from the local architecture and wouldn't a multi-storeyed structure stand out like this in a place like Kalpetta?
Beauty Villa.
ReplyDeleteI Like It.
Excellent Post & After This Post I am thinking Still I have Much More To Visit IN India.
The Article was good.Thanks for sharing fabulous information.
ReplyDeleteI would like to say many thanks to you for the useful information that you provided here.
ReplyDeleteToday I booked a room in Misty Hills Homestay and was reading the reviews in TP. I came across your review and got the link to your blog.
ReplyDeleteI had called Amailal (he must be the manager or owner of the place) today evening.
He told all the rooms are booked and only Bamboo Hut is available.
We are 4 of us - 2 adults + 2 kids (8 & 12 years).
So, I wanted to check with you whether this "Bamboo Hut" will fit all of us and is it safe?
Is that room big enough to put an extra bed?
Your words are encouraging for anybody who is planning to book a room in Misty Hills Homestay.
Thanks for the blog post.
Thank you, Mr. Narendra Kumar. Glad my post helped you decide. About the Bamboo hut, I didnt stay in one of them, so I have really no idea about the size, but I am sure it is safe. I stayed alone at Misty hills, with just my son, and they made sure we were perfectly safe the entire time I was there, so I dont think you need to worry on that account! Please do talk again to Amailal, and go ahead and have a wonderful time at Misty hills! and yes, please do write back with your experience,.
DeleteBeautiful place. I have visited Wayanad last month.
ReplyDeleteThanks Gaythri for your advice & book the Rooms at Misty hills. We two family stayed at 2 bed room apartments, really it was very nice. Mr Amailal guided well for the local trip along with map. The food was very fantastic in Misty hills kitchen. We enjoyed & like to say one of the best & peaceful place to stay.
ReplyDeleteWow,Great place for stay and think about new plan and idea.
ReplyDeletei like you story
thanks for sharing