Kabini
Jazzing the Jungle
By Devanshi Mody
S
et on the Kabini river by the
Nagarhole Tiger Reserve, the
award-winning eco property,
Orange County, distinguishes
itself. If South African lodges
I recently visited jealously absorb
the guest in a swaddling, suffocating
superfluity of finery, Orange County
generously directs the gaze
outwards. It is minimalist, with mud
cottages replicating thatch-roofed
Kadu Kuruba tribal huts (albeit
rather fancy ones with private pools
or jacuzzis). Unlike what is found in
12
South Africa, 1,000 chandeliers
don’t burn irresponsibly in your villa
day-long. Amidst this unabrasivelylit, unobtrusive, indigenous set-up,
the one jazzy concession is a
cutting-edge river-front infinity
pool, but that too accentuates the
great spectacle of Nature.
Moreover, the Ayurveda vaidyashala
proves how spectacularly
therapeutically effective Nature can
be. I arrive violently stricken with
food poisoning, un-alleviated by the
dozen antibiotics doctors had
inflicted on me. Orange County’s
wonderful young GM Joydeep swiftly
dispatches me to his Ayurveda spa
for Shirodhara head and shoulder
massage to unwind contused
muscles, followed by the
Chakradhara stomach cleansing
ritual. I am, I must confess, skeptical.
However, after Lavanya and
Soumya’s adept fingers have pressed
and punctured my tummy in strategic
places and piled on it an oil tank into
which hot oil enough to fill an ocean
is poured, I emerge all but divested
of the illness.
My recovery delights Chef Sanjay
Bhowmik, who proceeds to exhibit
culinary art in picturesque private
dining locations — like an over-water
intimate gazebo or a romantic
culinary river cruise. A butler
attends and a private chef
customises meals on-site. My fancy
is local cuisine. Various and
wondrous creations on the raw
banana theme (banana stem, flower,