One Weary City Slicker Went Off the Grid in Auroville for Two Months, and It Turned Out This Was All the Respite She Needed
The April sky was high and cloudless. It was 44°C and not a blade of grass was moving. But my blithe heart—it was dancing.
In the summer of 2016, I quit my job in Bengaluru, sub-leased my apartment, and with my meagre savings, left for Auroville in Puducherry to volunteer. I managed an arrangement that gave me accommodation in exchange for my services at the Tamarind Bakery and the bountiful cashew farms at the Evergreen Forest Community, a 25-acre stretch in a corner of the township with ambrosial wild berries, organic farms, thoroughbred horses and quaint cottages.
My hosts were Tamar, an inspiring South African woman, Amir, her Israeli husband whom she fell in love with while studying in Jerusalem, and their adorable children, Zohar, Laya, and Sophia. The couple moved here 14 years ago to lead a more nature-friendly life.
Thirteen year-old Zohar did not go anywhere without his book on Auroville’s wildlife. Laya, who was nine, loved to make jewellery out of shells, twigs and beads, and five-year old Sophia, whose favourite word was “buttocks”, had a belly as round and spongy as the carrot cake we baked.
I was put up in a cosy tree house right above the bakery. It included a bamboo shelf, one electric plug point, a fan and a mattress with a mosquito net. This was a huge shift from my spacious one bedroom apartment in Bengaluru, decorated with Led Zeppelin posters, fairy lights and second-hand furniture.
The tree house, with its rickety ladder, was like the bunk bed I always wanted but never had.
この記事は National Geographic Traveller India の September 2017 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
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この記事は National Geographic Traveller India の September 2017 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
Best Of The World 2023
Travel inspiration is everywhere. The question is where to go next. Here's our annual list of enlightened destinations for the year aheadplaces filled with wonder, rewarding to travellers of all ages, and supportive of local communities and ecosystems. Framed by five categories (Community, Nature, Culture, Family, Adventure), these destinations are under the radar, ahead of the curve, and ready for you to start exploring.
Α ΗΟΜΕ IN THE HILLS
Skyview by Empyrean is a onestop destination for adventure and leisure in Jammu
ENTER THE PICTURE POSTCARD
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Delightful degustation menus, French brasseries with art-inspired menus and Japanese diners excelling at nostalgia—the Dubai Food Festival 2022 justified the city’s status as one of the world’s premier food capitals
CULTURE COOL - UNDER THE EMIRATI SUN
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ONLY IN OTTAWA
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OF FRENCH FINESSE
QUENELLE DE BROCHET IS A REGIONAL LEGACY DISH HAILING FROM LYON. THE OVAL, POACHED PIKE DUMPLINGS ARE BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN INVENTED BY A PASTRY CHEF TO REGULATE FISH OVERPOPULATION
Coorg: A WILD ROAST
Back in another timber den of Karnataka, native wildlife and humble stories surprise Suhas Dwarkanath as he sips on a bold cup of robusta.
DIVING INTO RAS AL KHAIMAH
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