A Village So Hidden, Even Google Doesn't Know It!
City-Smart Assumptions and their Fallacy
We were wrong in our city-smart assumptions – they may not have spoken English, but they naturally knew ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’, a guest is God. They did not show motivation because there were no opportunities to display them.
Hidden Village took its first baby steps in December, 2009, with just three small abodes and a team of eight. Now it employs close to 45 local villagers of the same Grampanchayat now fully acquainted with Guest Hospitality.
That puny stream of water that we spotted 18 years ago is now a gushing monsoon-fed private waterfall frothing down thunderously from July until November, after which a milder flow continues to feed our natural water rock pond, rivulet and swimming pool.
It is rare, but murderers exist in plant life too.
Along the way we learnt some very valuable lessons on nature – Not all greenery is benign and harmonious to fellow plants – there are murderous ones too. Like clinging vines that look dainty, pretty and harmless when young.
Called Bokad Vel locally, the creeper wraps itself around massive full-grown trees and reaches right up to the canopy of leaves.
Then the vine spiraling around the tree grows thicker to over six inches in diameter and tightening its grip, starts to strangle its benefactor to a slow death, like a python does, to its victim before swallowing. Sorry to be telling you such real bad stories, but we’re just following today’s trends – Bad news is good news for our TV channels.
Now we shall proceed to tell you the 99% percent good news of Hidden Village’s plants, birds and animals. But if you do desire your daily dose of bad news, we have TV sets in each room with all city comforts so you can go see ‘what the nation wants to know’. We recommend you do not do this because there is so much more joy and healing in nature.
Black lives matter as much as white lives do
We have Aien trees that are not racist. They come in black and white too.
Black Aien wood is dense and so strong that it is tough to hammer a nail through its trunk. That is why this sturdy gift of nature is used in building homes and furniture. White Aien is soft and caring – shavings taken off its bark and ground into a paste are a wonder ointment to heal cuts and wounds. Together, they make a wonderful couple.
We, at Hidden Village, are more than a couple: We are triple, or is that a treble – just checking because we don’t want English language trouble from Shashi Tharoor. To put it plainly, we came along to put three elements together.
A) To protect and nurture plant and bird life to its original habitat across five acres on the outskirts of Sakhroli village on the periphery of the Tansa backwater forest. Tansa Lake is one among major suppliers of water to Mumbai city
B) Get Sakhroli villagers engaged back into their traditions of centuries – benefiting more from caring for nature rather than profit short-term by cutting it for firewood. Adivasis, the original tribals of the land, comprise the majority of our staff, most school dropouts, others widows and wives of alcoholic husbands.
C) Get city-dwellers to come over with their children to see what they lost and to know that it can still be reclaimed, not fully, but in substantial measure.
It has worked well and we are immensely grateful to all our ‘urban’ village guests – even more so to those repeatedly visiting us and saying encouraging things, and to those who threw barbs at us too, because it goaded us to work even harder on our beliefs.
Birds that high fly perhaps like Wi-Fi
The most gratifying virtue of our journey is that even the birds agree with us: Such as Jungle Crow, Indian Paradise Flycatcher, Black Rumped Woodpecker, Golden Oriole, Oriental Magpie Robin, Hoopoes, Common Kingfisher, Indian Cuckoo and White Spotted Fantail.
Then the migratory birds such as Oriental dwarf kingfisher that like the Mumbai torrential rains because they don’t travel by local train. The red-breasted flycatcher, which love Mumbai outskirts winters, cool and crispy, but not the freezing Ladakh cold.
You can’t spot all these in a single visit, of course, because many are rare visitors, flying in whenever time and inclination permit. Not just that: Chameleons, Squirrels, Monitor Lizards, Mongoose, Mud Turtles, Crabs and Frogs too are sometimes spotted darting away into shy shadows.
Some make reservations at Hidden Village just for the night – such as Little Cormorant, Cattle Egret and Indian Pond Heron that spend all day at Tansa Lake enjoying their fish meal. At dusk, they fly back six kilometers to our tree tops to roost and rest.
We don’t know why: Perhaps it is their way of saying: “Good job Buddies, for turning barrenness into greenness”.
Or maybe, just maybe, they like our free Wi-Fi.
Facilities & Service
ROOMS
All rooms have TV, AC, attached balcony, 24hrs Hot Water, well equipped and modern washroom.
INDOOR
Adult recreation area with table tennis, pool table, fuss ball, carrom-board, chessboard game.
OUTDOOR
Open ground for volleyball, badminton, cricket, etc., and Swimming in two water bodies, one of which is a freshwater pond and the other one is a large pool.
KIDS
Tiny tots play area, with merry go round, see-saw, slides, swings, and much more equipment to explore.
SPA
Full body massages, pedicures and manicures are available, by male and female masseurs in our new spa. Free fish pedicure 365 days, in our freshwater rock pond and a seasonal waterfall.
MEALS
Unlimited Buffet Meals included in the package which is arranged in the common dining area. We also have A La Carte menu with various options to choose from Chinese & Indian cuisine.
EVENTS
Hall is available for about 100 persons for events like birthdays, anniversaries and various special occasions.
ADVENTURES
Take a brisk 15 minutes walk to a serene village lake in the evening, guided by our staff.
Natural Waterfall
July to December, monsoon waters rush through the village downwards from the upper terrain of mountains and lake behind, higher in elevation from us. The pathway of this water provides for a seasonal waterfall, best for hydrotherapy like a massage.