Julie Wilhite is a young portrait and wedding photographer by profession. What makes her unique among travellers in general (and our guests in particular), is that she chose to make her first visit to India in a volunteer role. Prior to her holiday with us (along with her cousin Ann), Julie spent three weeks teaching in a Tibetan refugee settlement, working with what she affectionately calls “little lamas”. We asked her if she would send us some photos from her collection for our blog.  What she chose to send was some straight-from-the-heart thoughts on the experience of volunteering as a way of travel to new cultures, and what her interactions taught her.  There are also a few lovely shots of her happy little lamas.

“Life’s a funny thing. You chug along, creating “to do” lists, occasionally checking things off, and wake up one day realizing that months have passed. That happens to me, so I decided I had to do something about it. As a wedding photographer, I am thankful for a flexible schedule and chose the month of February to visit a country that has been calling my name for some time: India. It is a slow time of year for weddings, and I love to travel. As a photographer, I have traveled in years past by choosing an interesting location, taking a week or two off, and making a list of things I want to photograph on the journey. I decided I wanted to have a different experience in India. I wanted to experience India and its people (the true magic of India) on a deeper level. Volunteering seemed like the perfect idea. I had no grandiose ideas of changing the world, but if I could make a small difference and experience something new, my mission would be accomplished.

After talking to different people and lots of internet research, I settled on an organization called International Volunteer HQ – http://www.volunteerhq.org. I was drawn to IVHQ because it partners with established organizations in different countries (to hopefully create more impact) and because of their economical pricing. As many of you may know, volunteering abroad can be quite pricey. IVHQ creates an economical alternative.

So, I paid my dues, bought a ticket and was on my way. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little nervous – ok, A LOT nervous. But what I can say now, is all those nerves were worth it. I did a one week orientation in Delhi which was a great way for me to get settled, made some new friends and got used to being in an environment that is so drastically different than what I am used to. After the orientation, I made the long bus journey to a small town called Bir to volunteer.

Near the Himalayan Mountains and known for the many Tibetan refugees that live in the area, Bir is a peaceful respite from what people typically think of as India. I worked with incredible little monks at a nearby monastery ranging in age from 5 to 13. A fellow volunteer lovingly called them “little lamas.” We were teaching them English, going over simple things such as the words for the face and body and also allowed them to be kids – drawing beautiful pictures, going through the different items you can find at the market, and playing in the nearby landing strip for paragliders. As we ran around one day in the field, some of the boys held their scarves high above their heads and watched with glee as it ballooned in the wind. One little boy shouted “Superman!” and I had to laugh; no matter where you are in the world all little boys are the same. They may look different, they may study different things, but their hearts, their joy for life, their laughter – they are
all the same, all absolutely precious.

As with anything I love, I seek to capture it in photographs. Not only what it looks like, but how it feels. I challenged myself with a project while I was traveling: Daily India. I posted one image a day on Facebook, and it wasn’t always the most dramatic or impressive image, but the one that best told the story of my day.

After volunteering, I was able to spend a week being a tourist around Northern India where I discovered the jewel of Savista. At Savista, we were taken care of beyond our expectations, relaxing and enjoying the delicious meals or wine on the rooftop while taking in the sunset. It was one of our favorite parts of the trip. Savista also allowed me to finally relax and reflect on what a rewarding experience it was to volunteer in another country. And as corny as it may sound, my intention to originally help others ends up being far more rewarding for myself. I will forever remember my “little lamas” and my time spent not stressing about life, but enjoying and experiencing India. ”

Julie Wilhite
Portrait & Wedding Photographer
Based out of Austin, TX
info@juliewilhite.com
www.juliewilhite.com

GUEST STORIES: Shutterbugging With Little Lamas is a post from: The Savista Blog

Olivier Lacheze-Beer

A trip to Savista is a meeting, first and foremost. As a westerner and a European, it is always a privilege to experience the world differently. I have been travelling since my early age, as my father was a French diplomat, and ever since the age of 2, I have been journeying round the world. Later in my life, my work took me to places around the globe too…and it never ceases to amaze me just how incredibly diverse life on earth can be…and of course, just how much we also share in our experiences on this planet.
So coming to Savista is a privileged moment when you can encounter “the other”, or what you think is “the other”…to challenge notions of what being a human being is, what life on this earth “should” be like, or could be like and gain perspective on one’s own…well…perspective!

The most illuminating moment came for me when at Savista and I took the camel ride to the neighbouring village. When I arrived, I was greeted by all the children running towards me, with huge smiles…this was the stuff of films and documentaries…stuff you see on TV and don’t really believe at times…and here it was…then came the sharing of tea and smoking…and huge amounts of communication without even speaking 3 words of the same language…The most touching and moving moment for me was the way the community of families cared for and dealt with a mentally challenged young man who lived with them. I have rarely seen such humanity and care. They neither ignored his condition ( they made fun of him and laughed at his weird motions or mis-formed words) nor did they put him aside or outcast him…he was an integral part of the village…and was clearly very happy there…It is hard to describe the feelings it brought out in me…and I would probably be very sceptical if I was reading this and had not experienced it…but it was as if I was witnessing a lesson in meeting and being with “the other”…about how differences exist and should not be ignored AND facing those differences allows you to see what is common and therefore accept the difference… Very often, we either glorify or denigrate what is in others…and the truth is that the path to integrating differences is actually accepting them..

India is often a land of contrast…the peacock on top of the rubbish pile…the divine next to the most profane….and my trips to Savista have shown me that: there is not light without darkness, nor darkness without light…and it is not by ignoring the shadows, the “other”, that we are ever going to reach a point where we can move on…we must transcend AND include if we are ever going to have a chance of living with more love and care for each other.

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Many of our readers will find themselves resonating with Olivier’s thoughts.  Olivier is one of that wonderful breed of thinking travellers that magically find their way to Savista to become part of our extended family, and create the possibilities for multi-layered conversations about culture, nature and the human condition that continue long after the “guest” has departed from the “hotel”.  He promised to return, and did so 12 months later this year, and  our conversations resumed effortlessly.

Charmingly understated and utterly modest when it comes to talking about himself, Olivier typically does not dwell on his many talents and interests. Notable among these are his love for theatre, and his intellectual engagement with world cultures. His India connection began long before he actually visited this country, when he was immersed in his former profession as an actor on the British stage.  One the successful productions of his theatre group was a several hours-long version of the Mahabharata, staged in London, in which the four-member cast essayed  multiple roles.  As a preparation for his role(s), he familiarized himself with Sanskrit and made a close reading of the epic.

Currently, Olivier along with his colleague Fiona Bibby, runs Inchigo, a consulting firm that works with clients internationally  (www.inchigo.com).  Trainer, facilitator, coach and consultant, Olivier is a world class coach, passionate about expanding and developing human potential and inter-personal relationships in order to help individuals and teams in companies to embrace change, adapt and increase their performance.

GUEST STORIES: Finding oneself in “the other” and “the other” in oneself: the joys and insights of travel is a post from: The Savista Blog

Wendy works with refugees and asylum seekers in Britain and South Africa, and Chris runs the supremely successful Shakespeare Schools Festival in Britain, now extended to several other English speaking countries.

 In Chris’ previous work with Welsh television which involved making animation films, among the many things that he created was a character called Fireman Sam. Week after week Fireman Sam brought so much joy to millions of small children across the world – even as far away as India – that it made them want to become firemen when they grew up! To have the “Father” of Fireman Sam visiting Savista in the middle of the Indian countryside was one of those incredible things that happen at Savista from time to time, thanks to the wonderful people who choose to come and stay with us! Here is a brief glimpse into Wendy and Chris’ stories in their own words.

Wendy • “One of the many wonderful things that can arise out of a few days’ stay at Savista Retreat is the chance meeting with people with whom years later contact is made in a completely different context. In Cape Town last year where I was doing some voluntary work with refugees and asylum seekers I met a doctor and his wife who shared my very happy memories of a stay at Savista. There was an immediate connection and it was a very happy meeting. The work in Cape Town arose out of work in the UK as a member of a board that monitors the treatment of failed asylum seekers in a detention centre in London. These centres are often places of great despair and enormous fear – men who have escaped harsh conditions and fear for their lives if they are returned to their home countries, others who have lived for many years in the UK and who have families here, and other, younger men, who don’t remember life in any other country and who have no contact whatsoever with the country to which they are to be returned. The legal arguments, the rights and wrongs of each individual case, are often very complex, but what is indisputable is that these people’s lives are in limbo. So often they will say, this is much worse than prison, at least prisoners know when their sentence is going to come to an end and they will be released. The uncertainty in a detention centre is often difficult to bear. And many men cannot bear it. They self harm, they refuse food and drink and their mental health deteriorates. In these circumstances it’s sometimes difficult to remember that the Board is not a pressure group, it has privileged access that is not available to members of the public, and it’s role is to monitor the treatment of detainees, ensuring that their treatment is just and humane. And it’s most certainly a privilege to serve on such a Board. There are brave people in these Centres some of whom have risked all to come to the UK and others who accept their fate with astounding equanimity. And there is laughter, enormous camaraderie and mutual support. There are lessons to be learnt in the most unexpected of places.”

Christopher • “Whilst I was a commissioning editor of animation with Channel Four Wales / S4C, the Berlin Wall came down and an opportunity arose to work with Russian animators on abridged Shakespeare plays. The resulting twelve half hour films are still widely used by UK schools . The Shakespeare Schools Festival , which I run, evolved from that. The charity enables some 700 schools, rising soon to 2,000, to perform the half hour plays – four schools a night- in 100 professional theatres across the UK. Parents are incredulous and then so proud to see their children perform the great roles of Othello or Juliet. One of the most moving productions I saw was a Macbeth performed by deaf teenagers. Whilst they performed in sign language, another school’s students knelt on the stage with their backs to the audience and provided the voices in sync to the signing. Teachers tell us repeatedly what an impact learning and performing Shakespeare has on the confidence of their cast. And all this in the year when lines from Shakespeare’s The Tempest heralded the start of the London Olympics. “

GUEST STORIES: Straddling multiple creative worlds and emotional landscapes is a post from: The Savista Blog

Possibly you have seen the post on our facebook (http://www.facebook.com/SavistaHotel) about Caroline Dumergue. Possibly you have eaten at her restaurant in Bali (it’s the best). Or possibly you read about her in YAK magazine (where she has been nominated for Woman of the Year). Haven’t done any of those things? Well that’s not a problem, because we wanted to take this post to share a little about her life and her work.

Caroline Dumergue (nee Usher) is a New Zealand-born creative designing Restaurant/Bar Interiors & Brand Developing in Asia. Caroline’s career began in the movie business in set design, where she travelled and worked for twenty years in her home country, London, U.S.A. and Asia. She is now living her dream designing one-of-a-kind environments, and creating and launching brands. Caroline loves wine (her husband is a world reknowned sommelier) and is an absolute foodie – she is always on the look-out to find special people with culinary talent where she can happily feed her belly and soul.

(This year Caroline is nominated by high-end magazine the YAK to win “Woman of the Year” award for her overall creative talent in designing and creating the Mama San brand (which is the hottest restaurant on Bali island.))

If you find yourself in Bali, stop by Mama San. Not only will you be treated to wonderful food in a jaw-dropping environment, but you may run into Caroline herself. Tell her you stayed at Savista and you may be treated to a tour of her beautifully designed restaurant… and perhaps much more, like stories from her travels (she was a travel writer in one of her many avatars) or her passion for yoga (she has sampled some of the most exotic yoga destinations). For all her many talents, Caroline is delightfully unaffected and wonderfully warm and friendly. She arrived at Savista for a mere two night stay, but became a friend for life and continues to take a keen interest in the place.

http://mamasanbali.com/

Remember to keep sending in your stories, and well keep writing them up!

GUEST STORIES: Woman Of The Year & Restaurant Of The Century is a post from: The Savista Blog

With a long history of royal patronage, Jaipur has an impressive tradition of craftsmanship that produces the most extravagant goods for everyday uses – whether gold and silver jewellery, decorative textiles, brass and silverware, leather goods, or even handmade paper. We decided that paper – given the importance of stationery in our lives – would be an interesting topic to explore, so we set out on a trip to Kagzi paper production factory, which began its life producing paper for use in the royal court, and now produces for both the domestic and global markets. During this brief tour of their facility, we learned about the history and methods of traditional papermaking in Jaipur.

We were surprised to learn that this method of papermaking was brought to India during the 16th century by invaders from Central Asia. In prisons in Bokhara and Balkh, Chinese inmates had already demonstrated their skill in producing paper from natural waste. The fact this paper proved to be strong, durable and resistant to alteration or forgery, and could be produced in large quantities, led Babur – the first Central Asian invader to settle down in India and create what came to be known as the Moghul Empire – to encourage some of his men to learn this skill from the Chinese prisoners for use by the Moghul court in India. All court papers came to be prepared on the paper so produced as also, gradually, manuscripts and other related articles used by the educated citizenry. Prior to this introduction of paper, writing in India was carved on stone (e.g., Emperor Ashoka’s edicts), handprinted or painted on fabric (e.g., pattachitras), or etched on palm leaves (e.g., Hindu and Buddhist manuscripts).

The present-day Kagzi family in Jaipur (the name kagzi itself means “paper maker”) traces itself back to the settlers who travelled to India with Babur’s army and who had learnt the craft from the Chinese. Papermaking requires an unlimited supply of water and solid raw materials. Initially located in the district of Alwar (a little south of Delhi, in present day Rajasthan), the Kagzi family moved to Jaipur when water in Alwar became a scarce resource. They were also encouraged by an invitation from the kings of Jaipur who promised them court patronage and an abundant supply of water (the Dhundar region of which Jaipur is a part has always been a well watered one). The kings of Jaipur had entered into an early peace treaty with the Moghul court of Delhi, which resulted in a considerable amount of cultural exchange between the two kingdoms.

Unwanted scraps of fabric come from all over India and are shredded here in Kagzi to make paper

Today, the Kagzi paper factory recycles unwanted scraps of pure cotton fabric (from garment factories in different parts of India) and paper in any form (handmade, machine-made, cardboard) to make beautiful and durable handmade paper. Using simple indigenously designed machinery, these raw materials are finely shredded and then pulverized into a watery pulp (e.g.,70 kg. of shredded fabric or fabric-cum-paper mixed continuously in 400 to 500 litres of water for over 4 to 5 hours produces the required pulp). Where required, natural colour (or a bleaching medium) is added to the water. The water is re-used until it cannot be re-used any further. The resulting pulp is then manually spilt onto a sieve to form a smooth and thin layer, which is covered with a thin piece of loosely woven cotton fabric. This fabric helps separate one layer from another when they are placed on top of each other. The men who do this have a good idea of how thinly the pulp needs to be spread to create the required thickness of paper. Where the paper is designed to have extra design detail, other natural materials such as grasses, pieces of silken thread, flower petals etc., are sprinkled onto each layer of sieved pulp, before being covered with cotton cloth.

Two men flip over a newly produced sheet of paper that has been formed by thinly spreading pulps of recyclables over a net

The layers are then pressed down by a machine press which serves to extract the remaining water from paper-in-the-making. The next step is the careful peeling off of layer upon layer of cloth to reveal the ready but still-damp paper. This work is done by women. After this, the cloth pieces go back for re-use until they can e re-used no further.

At this stage, further design variations may be introduced. For example, if the paper requires to have a creased look, each sheet is crumpled up by hand after removing the fabric and then straightened out again. In any case, at this stage, all the sheets go through a flattening process by being placed manually between two iron sheets and put through a machine roller, which produces a final crisp and fully dry product (the ones that were crumpled retain the lines of the creases in their smoothness). If screen printing or embossing is required, it happens at this stage. The sheets then go through a cutting machine for the final size and knife edges.

The Kagzi factory exports much of products to different parts of the world – sheets to the U.K., U.S., Japan and the Middle East, customized printed products to large department stores such a Tesco and Target; it also supplies shops and designers in the Indian market.

In summary, the handmade paper industry not only has an illustrious history, it is also an ecologically sensitive industry (prevents de-forestation as it uses non-wood pulp, recycled cloth, paper waste, flowers and grasses, and is non-polluting as it is acid free. Being labour intensive, it is suited to generate employment among India’s large rural population. It is also energy and water efficient, and requires low capital investment as it also uses simple and totally indigenously designed machinery.

Rajasthan’s Local Crafts: Handmade Paper Production is a post from: The Savista Blog

1923 Springfield Silver Ghost Rolls Royce

Guests of Savista come from all over the world, but Rick Brown and Tom Stevenson have traveled enough miles of the world to cover the equator eight times.

Rick is the passionate collector of 1923 Springfield Silver Ghost Rolls Royces (he has five to date). The beauty they drove to Savista in has taken Rick through 60 countries throughout different continents. Tom has been his navigator in most of these travels (although Rick has also had thirty other family members and friends (ages 8 to 80) accompany him at various times).

The two began traveling together in 1998 (they have been friends for over 28 years and share a common interest in fly fishing and exotic travels). They were placed first in the Pioneer category of the 2007 “Peking to Paris” Road Rally. They decided to take a trip to India to fulfill their dream of seeing the Taj Mahal, and driving through the Himalayas (particularly the highest motorable mountain pass in the world, the Khardungla in Ladakh). Shipping their car from Paris to Bombay, they stopped over at Jaipur on their way to Ladakh.

Rolls Royce during one of its journeys – Taken from SilverGhostWorldTravels.com

When Rick and Tom arrived at Savista on a humid late August evening, it was too dark to even make out the beauty of their 1923 Rolls Royce. Traveling everyday at a sedate speed of 35 kilometers per hour, often for 8-10 hours a day, they try to make the most of the daylight hours, stopping only when dusk begins to give way to night. Their motto is to travel for the journey rather than the destination. Each evening, thus, brings them to a new hotel, making it a count of thousands of hotels across the world over the years. We felt special that Savista had made it onto this list.

Between drinks and dinner, they regaled us with stories from their travels. The following morning after breakfast, Rick spent an hour servicing the car while Tom attended to emails and did a bit of reading. Before they left, Rick in a gesture of old world courtesy offered to give a ride to whoever at Savista wanted one. He told us that at the hotel that they had stayed at in Mumbai, he had ended up giving 40 rides around the hotel block to the hotel staff (since only one passenger can be accommodated at a time)! Conscious of their need to be back on the road, we contented ourselves with just one short spin through the countryside surrounding Savista, so Rick could get an idea of where he had stayed when transiting through Jaipur. Children in school uniforms on their way to school, men on cycles and motorbikes, women in the fields – everybody we passed waved and jumped, wide-eyed at the sight of the beautiful car. Rick was not surprised; he remarked that the courtesy that he had received on the road from Mumbai to Jaipur from fellow truck and other drivers had been an amazing experience.

Rick Brown with the Rolls Royce – Taken from SilverGhostWorldTravels.com

Please visit their website at Silverghostworldtravels.com or contact them at info@silverghostworldtravels.com for more information about their travels.

Guest Stories: Rolling into Savista in a 1923 Rolls Royce is a post from: The Savista Blog

Stork-billed kingfisher

Birdwatching never got easier, or more fun.  And it couldn’t be a better time of year to match the voice with the bird.

Imagine that you are at an opera that begins at 6 in the morning and goes on until 4 in the evening.  Imagine that every singer is top-notch, and out to give his best  (yes, there are no divas here, only male singers).  Imagine that you have an open invitation to daily shows, and that you could choose your own seat, rotate seats to get the best view of your favourite baritone, and even have your own box.

Well, that is what Savista is like now.  An opera house.

The first fingers of summer are reaching out across the countryside.  The trees, which were bare five days ago are now breaking out in new leaf, but the foliage is still not dense enough to hide the vibrant feathered singers.  And every singer is using this to be out there, showing himself off, and singing as though his chest would burst.  What a display for the females!  And for us, lucky bystanders to these courtship preludes.  It was never easier to bird-song spot.  Just choose your aria, and you will be able to sight the singer.

Yesterday, we spotted a new visitor to Savista.  The stork-billed kingfisher – 38 cm and, reportedly,  India’s largest kingfisher.  We were able to identify it by its very heavy large red bill and dark grey-brown head,  its back the trademark ‘kingfisher blue’.  We believe that he may be new to our area, because until now we have only been familiar with his white-throated kin who is one of our established residents. What caught our attention was a more powerful and persistent ‘kingfisher trilling’ than we had hitherto heard from our resident white-throated kingfisher.  On following the trail of the song we were able to sight the visitor easily, perched alone on a tree, displaying his “stork-bill” and the absence of the chestnut brown head and neck (characteristic of his white throated counterpart).  Since then he has obliged us with many more performances.

Bye for now.  Got to get back!  Another aria has begun, and we need to see who the singer is!

White throated kingfisher

Pictures from wikipedia.com and surbirds.com, respectively

BIRDWATCH: The stork-billed kingfisher and white throated kingfisher is a post from: The Savista Blog

In villages and cities the streets come alive with Holi colours well before the festival

The winter just gone by at Savista was what we might call a ‘normal’ one, i.e. temperatures were as expected.   Throughout the season our gardens remained green and lush, and the fields around us a verdant green-yellow with wheat, mustard and garden peas.  The days were cool, and the nights cold.  The sky at sunset was a palette of shades of blue and pink.  And the nights gave us a virtual planetarium of stars and planets on crystal-clear  display. Our 85 odd resident varieties of birds were up and about but relatively quiet, going to bed early and waking up – and waking us up – late, except for the insomniac nightjars that, true to form, kept erupting into sqawks of alarm possibly caused by bird-nightmares.

Our spring dawned as expected.  As it unfolded, we witnessed the daylight hours stretching by just a few extra minutes everyday.  The birds which did not seem to be able to find their voices until almost 7 in the wintry mornings began to call as early as 6 (and as we move into the summer they will be up by 4!).  They also appeared much more active and their numbers increased. The winter crop of garden peas, and most of the mustard crop had been harvested around the beginning of this season.  But there continues to be plenty of food for the birds as the  rich green of the young wheat crop turns to the dull gold of  mature wheat  ready for the harvest.  With long daylight hours available for courtship, the mating season has begun in earnest.  We have also been witnessing the first “Fall” of the new year, with some of our local trees – Neem, Gulmohur, Lesva, Kesariya-shyam, Palash, Silk-cotton – carpeting the ground with their aging leaves.  New green leaves are ready to sprout.  The air  is suffused with an inexplicably pleasant and heady perfume – a bouquet combining the scent of various blooming flowers, wood-smoke, leaf sap, fresh grass and, who knows what else that nature secretly produces to delight us?  

As spring advances into summer – for two days last week it looked at though this had happened all too quickly, but mercifully the spring cool returned - the earth will start to be dominated by shades of brown, and even the well-watered Savista lawns will turn a pale green under the relentless summer sun.  But the flowering shrubs, trees and birds will compensate for everything else.  The flowering shrubs – notably jasmine – will drench the night air with their exquisite perfume, making the night come alive with mystery and longing.  In  the early mornings, the sweet smelling parijat flowers will join the jasmine in bringing joy to humans, birds and butterflies, alike.  Wearing their new coat of green and blooming with brilliant and fragrant flowers the trees will attract and sustain Savista’s birds. And the birds will sing their hearts out.   Together they will keep us humans happy. In fellowship with them all,  even summer in this semi-arid region will seem worth experiencing!

Not that we are in a hurry for that yet.  We are still enjoying our memories of playing with Holi colours earlier this month.  Holi is a collective celebration by an agrarian society of the successful  harvesting of the winter crop, the growing warmth and lengthening rays of the sun following the cold season,  the bursting into bloom of flowers, the beginning of the mating season for birds,  and last but not least, the surge of love, romance and longing in the human heart symbolized by the eternal love of Radha for Krishna.  Love was the theme everywhere  this March – in the colours on people’s faces, in the dancing at the temples of Vrindavan where Radha and Krishna’s love for each other is most exhuberantly  celebrated, in the Sufi poetry being sung everywhere exhorting people to rise above petty preoccupations and engage with each other and with the world in a spirit of universal love…Ultimately, that is the message of spring.

Perhaps it is in keeping with our sad world that this is the shortest season in northern India….

Spring at Savista and the Spring Festival of Holi in Jaipur is a post from: The Savista Blog

"The sky over Savista on a winter's morning"

One of our Team@Savista – a native of the U.S.- remarked with wonder at the climatic diversity in Rajasthan that she was able to observe over an eight month period here, and announced that we should surely do a blogpost on this aspect!  We have also observed  that several of our Western guests arrive with a bland view of India as a uniformly “hot” country round the year (with, perhaps, the exception of the Himalayas which, again, are often mistakenly believed to be uniformly snow-covered).   

So, here we are with a little note on the nuanced nature of the seasons in this part of Rajasthan.   We have several seasons – a few long ones and a few short ones.  The two really significant ones – the polar opposites - are summer and winter. The rest of the year is peppered with shorter seasons, within which are embedded further sub-seasons.

Summer is the longest season (three months, from mid-April until mid-July), when the climate is unrelentingly hot and dry, approximating desert conditions.  During the day, the sun’s rays are sharp and brilliant.  But, as in the desert, midnight to early morning temperatures could even drop to cold.

Winter (around eight to ten weeks, from mid-December until end-February) is cold and crisp in the mornings and evenings, with late night temperatures dipping sometimes even to zero.  Day-time temperatures, though, could be quite warm. 

Close on the heels of summer come the life-giving rains (around six weeks, from mid-July until end-August).  The rainy season in Rajasthan is not the ‘monsoon’ that one associates with other regions in the country.   It is  more  a period of dramatic cloud formations, loud claps of thunder and intense bouts of lightning.  Teasing clouds may appear in the skies for days on end, with not a drop released.  And showers when they occur may tend to be few, short and hesitant, leaving the earth feeling dry within minutes of their appearance.  In a good year, where the summer has gone through several strong dust/sand storms (called aandhis),   many of these short showers could be heavy, accompanied by gusty winds and madly swaying trees, and could even cause flash floods.  But whether weak or strong, these showers – even the weakest – can make nature come incredibly alive as nowhere else in the country, with multiple shades of brilliant green covering every inch of the ground.  By and large for humans, this is a season of long and pleasantly-cloudy days, when outdoor temperatures are comfortable.  

 The rains are followed by a ‘short summer’ ( of around two to three weeks, roughly early-September until end-September or early-October).  This is a season of humidity – the only one of its kind in this region – when the recently-nourished earth goes about its business of regenerating life. There is an explosion of insect life within the dense young grass and vegetation that the rains had set off.   And in turn, the availability of insects  supports a proliferation of bird-life as there is plenty of food to feed the newly-hatched chicks sitting out the rains in their precariously swaying nests.  Without too much labour, parent birds help their chicks grow strong and learn to fly away.  For humans, this is a great birding season.

It is a relief when autumn ( eight to ten weeks, early-October until early-December) dawns cool and lovely.  Long balmy days and cool nights, ideal weather for exploring the outdoors or relaxing in the shade of the spreading trees.    Both insects and birds have by now come to terms with their respective life cycles.  Trees stand testimony to abandoned nests, some trees completely festooned with the intricate hanging nests of the Baya weaver bird.  The cooler weather acts as a dampener on population explosion among insects.  Butterflies and sunbirds take the place of insects as the royalty of the outdoors, as colourful flowers begin to bloom everywhere and the trees continue to wear their mantle of green. This is one of the loveliest seasons in this part of Rajasthan. 

Matching autumn in every respect is spring (six weeks, early-March until mid-April), that comes after the winter, when the days and nights are cool and flowers bloom everywhere. .  Alas, an all-too-short season. But it is a period of festivity and celebration culminating in the uniquely north Indian spring ‘festival of colours’ called Holi. 

Embedded in the spring and winter are two  mini-seasons of Fall, when many of the  local trees shed their old leaves to make way for new ones.  In late spring as the heat of summer begins to make itself felt,  the Neem, Gulmohur, Lesva, Kesariya-shyam, Palash, Jacaranda and Karanji begin to uncover their branches.  This allows the birds to show themselves off on the bare branches and send out their mating calls.  In early winter it is the turn of the Khejri trees to shed their aging yellow leaves leaves and almost simultaneously sprout tender green ones.  Embedded in mid-summer is a season of strong desert sandstorms (aandhis) that create the conditions for plentiful rains.

The Changing Seasons in Eastern Rajasthan is a post from: The Savista Blog

                                                    Sunrise Over Savista

                                         (Photo by Signe Wolsgard Kroyer)

”We cannot have harmony and balance in our lives if we forget to include the earth and natural rhythms in our lives.

Nature, in all its myriad forms, is the most powerful force on earth. Although mankind has tried, we have not found a way to match its awesome power, but we have found ways to work with it. Science often confirms the wisdom of the ancients who observed and then harnessed nature’s rhythms and cycles to shape and enhance their lives. We can begin to do this in our own lives by first paying attention to our own natural rhythms, such as when we wake or when we feel the need to sleep. If possible, we may want to try to rise and sleep with the sun or live without electricity for a weekend and then monitor how we feel. We can make the choice to eat the foods of the seasons and to seek fresher, locally grown, or organic produce whose own cycles have not been tampered with by technology.

We can create harmony in our homes by making a smooth transition between our indoor and outdoor spaces. By bringing some of the outdoors inside and taking some of our indoor décor out, we can simultaneously enjoy nature and the comforts of home and the feeling that our living space is expanded. Then, whether inside or out, we can lounge on a comfortable piece of furniture and feel the wind, inhale the scent of deeply breathing plants, listen for the many songs of life, and observe the moon and the stars. As we do this more often, we may find ourselves noticing the pull of the full moon on bodies of water, as well as the water in bodies, or the music of the night acting as a lullaby.

When we seek balance in our lives, we want to balance not just our roles in life but also the natural elements in our spaces. Having representations of the elements in the colors, shapes, and textures of our homes will appeal to our mind, body, and spirit. We may find that when we sync ourselves with nature’s rhythms, we ride the waves of energy to feel more in harmony with life and the world around us.”

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 The above piece was sent to us recently by one of our well-wishers (“Daily OM”).  And the picture of “Sunrise Over Savista” by another friend (thank you, Signe).

 It is possible for all of us to establish connections with nature… in small or big ways, and  wherever we may happen to be.  At Savista, we feel grateful for the opportunity to experience the rhythms of nature in this little corner of India.  Whether in our traditional architecture, where our courtyard brings the sun, moon, stars, trees and birdsong right into the haveli … our interior décor, where we extensively use materials and colours from nature…  our diverse open and enclosed spaces, which we try to creatively adapt to the dictates of the weather and seasons… our weakness for flickering candles  and oil lamps,  that help us stay in harmony with starlight in the late evenings … or our homegrown/locally sourced food that makes us feel close to the earth…Life at Savista brings with it a lot that is good about nature. 

But there is also the ‘bad’, that we have learnt to take in our stride.  It has helped us learn the wisdom that what is “bad” for us – comfort-loving humans – is almost always “good” for nature (which is probably why the “bad”  is there in the first place! ).   

For example, we remain open to guests for only eight months of the year, when the weather is cool and comfortable; this means losing business for the remaining four months of the year.  But we have come to terms with the loss of revenue, rather than opt to keep our air-conditioners running 24/7 through the summer months, involving profligate use of energy.  Paradoxically, starting spring and through the summer are when the birds are at their busiest, which makes it the ideal bird watching season!

Again, during phases in the hot summer,  we have to cope with masses of sand flying into our open-air pool, due to fierce sandstorms that also wrench leaves off trees and hurl them into the courtyard.  If there were no frequent sandstorms in this part of Rajasthan, there would be no plentiful rains in that year.  We have therefore learnt to welcome the sandstorms, and to simply avoid using the pool on the days that it has taken a beating. Not having guests during these periods does away with having to be apologetic about what is a perfectly natural occurrence. 

In the humid ‘short summer’ that lasts for a fortnight to three weeks at the fag end of the rains, the luxuriant growth of insect life in our surroundings renders the late evenings somewhat stressful if we use too many electric lights, as the bright lights have a fatal attraction for these insects.  When we have guests staying with us, we need to use full lighting, yet keep insects under control, for enhanced guest comfort.  This raises the huge – for us – ethical question of whether to spray?  or avoid chemicals altogether and let nature take its course? (see our blogpost “To Spray or not to Spray”, October 6, 2011).   In our neck of the woods, our resident starlings love the taste of the local insects.  On the morning after a particularly insect-filled evening they fly into our courtyard in pairs and within a couple of hours achieve a complete clean-up .  During particularly humid ’short summers’, therefore, we avoid taking bookings, thus resolving the dilemma of how to assure guest comfort while remaining true to our environmental ethic. 

Again, for about two weeks in the spring when the late mustard crop is being harvested, the tiny flying insects that live and feed in the mustard crop through the growing season are forced to flee their habitat.  Death, then, is their only alternative, and the only death they know is death by drowning.  As if by instinct, they make their way to our swimming pool and commit mass suicide.  If we come to know that some farms around us are about to harvest a late mustard crop, we decline bookings for that period and simply allow what must happen to happen! 

These are a few of the ways in which we at Savista try to go with the rhythms of nature and our immediate environment…

‘Earth Living’ at Savista: Following Nature’s Cycles is a post from: The Savista Blog