Finally got around to doing the proposed trip to the well. Decided to go by the land route, as the weather has been really unpredictable and it was not safe to take a canoe out.
My truck driver friend Rajinder, heard that I was going to his neck of the woods and insisted that I […]
Today I noticed something fresh; the sound of the human voice floating freely in the air. There is little traffic, no hum of tall buildings. I hear children’s voices and women’s voices and the men, too. Calling out to each other, singing fragments of song. Not competing with anything but the birds and the wind and the […]
2014 started with a mild winter followed by a huge landslide in the nearby village – trees travelling to new locations, opening new views of the mountains, new beginnings.
March & April marked the start of our yoga season with new teachers joining the growing family of teachers who are returning on a regular […]
The Rangpurs, known locally as Ghumerees, are all beginning to ripen. It is a cross between an orange and a lemon. Looks like an orange, peels like an orange, segments like an orange, but tastes more like a slightly less tangy lemon.
The way the locals eat it is to make a paste of sugar, […]
Every morning at 5am, I take my cup of tea to the deck and watch the Peacock strut his stuff. His display area is amongst the Basunti flowers, on the meadow below the observation deck. At 8:30am he leaves, looking slightly dejected, all that effort posturing and calling and no results.
This morning he […]
Even after the daily depredations of the Barbets, Parakeets and Himalayan Civet Cat, we still managed to harvest over seventy Kilos of organic, Italian peaches, just from one tree. After sharing some with the staff, fifty were put in the fridge for later consumption. The remaining peaches were diced and put in the sun to […]
Rajendra, our truck driver friend, recently celebrated his sons fifth birthday with a big celebration in his honour. This consisted of producing industrial quantities of food and then feeding the entire village. The son helped serve the hundreds of guests that arrived, which is customary in this type of Pooja.
The meal comprised of […]
For two days, all the staff helped me with the preparation of nearly thirty kilos of carrot chutney, for the coming season. Just the peeling and chopping of all the ingredients took seven of us nearly four hours. Twenty kilos of carrots, six kilos of tomatoes, six kilos of onions, a kilo of garlic, […]
We wish you all a very good Christmas and a wonderful New Year.
Warmest of wishes and regards from all of us at Basunti.
