Travel
spread like a lover over the receptive
water as you relish regional
specialties that include crisp,
crafted raagi dosas (millet pancakes)
and fresh sugarcane juice. On
request, sous-chef Shaik Subhan
from Andhra can do green gram
pesaretto dosas served with lentil
sambhar quirked with raw mango.
A dash of spice comes when an
Omani sheikh’s chopper lands, amidst
flurried activity, the sole disruption
to the serenity of the surroundongs.
fruit) especially fascinate. Private
dining experiences are fantasy
feasts, but I find myself sneaking
to the organic counter at the
Honeycomb restaurant, which will
soon serve cuisine and produce from
a 30-kilometer radius, committed as
the resort is to supporting local
communities (most staff is sourced
from neighbouring villages).
But it’s home-roasted coffee from
their own estates that beckon at
riverside breakfasts. Watch the sun
Of course, the resort’s naturalists
can enliven the environs, where
flowers swirl in dancing halos of
golden butterflies. Again, unlike the
often glib and not always brilliant
Afrikaans guides I’ve encountered,
these boys are specialists. Kishan’s
focus, for instance, is early-morning
nature walks. We explore a termite
hill, which he eloquently calls
“technically advanced, high-speed
real estate.”
As birds zigzag our line of vision,
Kishan expounds on their habits and
habitats. “But do you know,” he asks,
“who understands animal behaviour
and the jungle best? Poachers!”
Happily, there has been no poaching
in the past 15 years. Nagarhole
Tiger Reserve, which falls under
India’s prestigious “Project Tiger”
has been fiercely guarded. The forest
has long been protected, Kishan says