A homestay within a mango orchard- Mango Mulch

This vacation was fun. We took two short breaks, one at a resort in Hassan which you can read about here and the other at a homestay in Talekkadu.

Mango mulch is just the place to be! To get away from the chaos and maddening city life, you need a place just like this. True to its name, one can find the king of fruits hanging just about everywhere! The place boasts of about 5 huge 100 year old mango trees and about 60 others.

The home stay belongs to a lovely couple, Ashwini & Sudhakar who make you feel completely relaxed and at ease with the surroundings. There are 3 cottages which are designed in the most Eco friendly manner. The dining space is common and to be shared by all the residents occupying the cottages.We were two families  and the entire space belonged to us for the two days, that we were there!

Before I show you around Mango mulch, another word of appreciation for the gracious hosts who diligently supervised the food coming out of the kitchen. A complete spread of delicious home cooked food was served to us. I missed taking photograph of the melt-in-the-mouth pudding that Ashwini served to us one evening!

They have a beautiful home within the premises and their hometour was a real feast to the eyes. Ashwini is an Architect and Sudhakar is a Civil Engineer and their expertise reflects in every corner of their home! Amazing wood work, two courtyards, vibrant customized tiles on the floor, antiques collected over years adorn their space.

In the latter part of the post, I shall give a sneak peak into their love nest but you take my word for it and visit the place and let yourself be soaked in the beauty of it all!

Come now, let us take a virtual tour of this amazing place.

Mango mulch it is!

A pot hung upside down serves as a lamp

Two rooms on either side with a sit-out in the centre of the verandah

Close-up of the cottage exterior

We taking a property tour with Sudhakar

I spent all my time on this swing!

Our cottage from a distance...

I told you, mangoes hang from just about everywhere!

Now, let us take a look inside the cottage. Simple layout, ideal sitting arrangement and a pleasing decor style is what you notice once you are inside the cottage.

Nice and cozy!

A sewing machine put to good use!

Can sit here for hours with a book and gaze outside

Roof

The dining area

Our kids had a wonderful time here playing hide and seek, cricket, football, climbing trees,enjoying their hammock and swing sessions. Apart from this they were amazed to see a variety of fruit trees other than mango like pappaya, chickoo, pomegranete, banana etc

Ashwini and Sudhakar's home

I loved those niches, the wooden door frame and everything inside!

 All the while, we could make out the distinct sound of peacocks.  And every time I was near the lily pond my heart desired to see them dancing in full glory! They were somewhere quite near but they chose to remain elusive!

That's a lily pond 

Beauty is in simplicity!

 There is a small temple of Lord Dakshinamurthy adjacent to their home. You can see all of us praying and thanking Him for the lovely stay that we had.

A lovely place to enjoy nature and such warm and welcoming hosts. Nothing more to ask for!

Resort decor-Hoysala village resort

This post is going to be on a resort in Hassan,Karnataka called the Hoysala village resort.
Hassan can be your place of stay when you visit the famous temple sites Belur and Halebid.

For a decor blogger, Hoysala village resort was the ultimate treat to the senses. Set among lush greenery, the choicest fruit bearing trees like mango, coconuts, jack fruit and melons, flowering trees and plants this place was cool and it was a real paradise on earth even during the summer months.

The resort has Kerala styled cottages, impressive wood work and something that thrilled me to bits was the paintings on the walls.The paintings were everywhere right from the walls,earthen pots, lamps and even trash bins.These  were simple ones that can remind you of the village folks and their daily activities.Easy floral motifs drawn on the staircases, running high as borders on door and window frames and on the niches in the walls is a sight to remember forever!!!

Apart from these, were wood work that stole my heart right away.And another very important aspect of decor is the flooring.They had vibrant ceramic designed patterns which I loved to the core.Many a times it was such that I didn't quite know whether to look in front or to the stunner below my feet.Such was my confusion!


I know am creating quite a build up! Now, let me not keep you waiting further but lets just hop, skip and jump to view the enthralling pics.

These were some pics at the entrance near the parking lot and the reception area and I knew am going to love this place in totality!

Pay attention to the art on pots,lamps and even 'use me' bins

I liked the arrangement of earthen pots one above the other to create a distinctively unique piece.

Because I clicked so many pics and would like to share all of them with you,have created a collage.Yes, am being a little mean but otherwise it would have become a pic heavy post.The art on walls were strikingly beautiful.If you notice they are very simple motifs depicting nature and activities of the daily life in villages.

Some animal figures drawn on cafeteria walls...

Amidst nature even this metal cart induces the right mix of drama ...

 Now, let me show you the placement of rooms in the resort.There were different arrangements, some in the typical cottage style, some in the 'nallukettu' style which houses rooms on all sides with a central courtyard.

This is a villa styled accomodation

A 'mansion' within their premises is being constructed which shall be open to the guests soon.And my my it was huge with massive woodwork and  brass and copper embellished.The rooms were a real peep into our rich cultural heritage what with copper lamps by the bedside and pendant lights that you keep staring at and not to forget the copper bathtub that was the cynosure of the rest area!

Interiors of the bedroom in the mansion...

The room that we occupied...

Have a look at this room, the ceiling has been covered with traditional Kanjeevaram sarees.

This is their entertainment area where one evening we were enthralled with Bharatnatyam performance.

The tiles had their own story to tell...

At the reception area...

Moving to the restaurant area, again the ceilings had some master paintings.Have a look

I would also like to mention that apart from the interiors and decor that I have so much praised, their food and hospitality was no less.The staff was warm and welcoming, making sure that we had a comfortable and pleasant stay throughout.
The buffet included a delicious spread of the traditional and the continental.

As the evening set, the lamps were lighted and the place became quite and I sat here in tranquility,enjoying each micro second, for this is what we miss in our monotonous city life.

Hope you enjoyed this post.Whenever you make plans to visit this side of Karnataka, do not miss Hoysala Village Resort. Highly recommended, if you go by my words!

Coming up next is a home tour on the blog.Stay tuned folks!

Sanjivani

Today's post is on pebble /rock painting.Sometimes it is quite challenging to decide on the subject that you would choose to paint on a rock.Of course we do have endless possibilities.It can be a doodle, a graphic representation or based on the shape of the rock one can choose the subject to paint.
Now you might wonder why the subject Sanjivani for a post on rock painting. we will soon come to that.

Very recently stumbled upon a rock.It was actually my daughter, who saw this piece and pointed me towards it.By now my family is quite aware of my fondness for rocks,pebbles,twigs and the like.
So it was a good one and I took it immediately.




After pondering for sometime on what I should do with it, I chose to do this.I already had this painted lady rock with me( I gave her a slight makeover for this post) and now on the recent treasure that I picked up, I painted a tree.Not an ordinary one.A Sanjivani. Since I want to pair both of them together, this is the way to be! What do you think?



Don't you think a tree for our nature and the ladies in our home are our sanjivani. A sanjivani is said to possess the power to revive even the dead.That's why we say ...Mother Nature. such an apt name.( Mother & Nature go hand in hand)

Some more of my painted stone collection.Have a dekko. And this is the perfect way to spend an afternoon, infact a rainy afternoon... tea/coffee, some munchies, may be even your favourite music.So take out your paints and collected rocks and give a  facelift to your balcony too! Hope you are enjoying the monsoons and my post.Stay tuned folks.