‘Welcome to Lakshman Sagar‘ greeted the well mannered, soft spoken and affable manager of the resort, Tejinder {aka Teji} as we alight from the car that drives us into the resort. Welcome to Lakshman Sagar where all you have to do is nothing. The words stayed in my head through our stay. They rang so true and make you want to celebrate all that they could possibly mean, and more!Nothing quite prepares you for the luxury and peace of Lakshman Sagar. Nothing at all. It caught me by surprise, a place I have been putting off visiting for over a year. Now I can’t wait to get back there again!! That’s just how good the resort is, the team that delivers their concept of “slow Living” like it should be. And the concept comes with oodles of down to earth luxury. Not rose tinted, not high heeled in any way. It’s down to earth good, and just the way I like love it. {Warning: Long post with loads of images}
It begins with the ease of getting to the resort. A 15 minute drive to Gurgaon station got us to the Ajmer Shatabdi which came on the dot on time. I wish Indian Railways was cleaner and the food was leaps better, but well that’s another story. Off at Ajmer, into the waiting car, it was a smooth, pleasant and quick hour and a half drive to the resort. The highway is amazing, possibly the best stretch of highways in India that I have driven along.Getting there was a breeze, and to welcome us was the most refreshing nimbu paani presented most beautifully in true Sewara style. That hospitality stayed through the visit, never wavering, never faltering, truly endearing.
At the fringe of the Badlands of India, Lakshman Sagar was built in the late 19th century as a hunting lodge by the then Thakur of Raipur, Lakshman Singh Ji to host other noble families and British emissaries. As a continuation of the hospitality and traditions of the House of Raipur; Sewara has envisioned a getaway much like Thakur Lakshman Singh Ji, though with a conservationist view of the heritage and surroundings.The first thing that catch your attention are two heritage buildings standing tall to welcome you. The Zanana (women) quarters and Mardana (men) quarters, designed historically for the ladies and men respectively, offer hints to Rajput culture and traditional customs like pardah or reflecting the grandeur of mehfils & baithak. Seeped in history, every corner of Lakshman Sagar depicts the nuances of hunting holidays during the days of the Raj. From the machans used for tiger spotting to the man-made lake to attract game, great care has been taken to restore the priceless heritage.The re-conceptualization of Lakshman Sagar is manifested through the endless detailing in the architecture & design, the cuisine, and the well-thought of activities & non-activities tailored personally for the guests in a captivating natural topography, ideal for mindless relaxation. Things that impressed – bespoke services, local and sustainable processes, loads of thought in everything on site, a team effort, very knowledgeable staff. Also that the furniture, coasters, ash trays etc are all made in house.As Teji walked us around the beautifully maintained 32 acre property, I could not help but marvel at the attention to detail . Keeping local traditions in mind, 12 mud cottages dot the property, each delightfully designed and each offering the privacy you would never expect. One step into our cottage and I knew instantly what makes Lakshman Sagar so special. That the interiors use only locally sourced products, be it the stone walls or the rock cut basin in the washrooms, the rock cut pool individual pool outside each room, to bottles for water, copper glasses for water, oil cans, native linen, bric a brac from Rajasthan, the list is endless.
The 12 cottages have been meticulously planned and conceptualized with assistance from the vanguards of sustainable design – architects, Vasant & Revathi Kamat and designer duo Sahil & Sarthak. Merging Rajasthani design with eco sensibility,the twelve 900 sq ft mud and stone cottages, supplement the Mardana and Zanana and invoke an experience both private and symbiotic with nature. Such a phenomenal job, one that you have to see to believe.
Just being there for 2 days was a life changing experience. Being in touch with nature, doing nothing that requires you to hurry, a complete bespoke experience. The high point of out first evening, the sun downer that is best seen for the rooftop of the Zanana. Where else can you get such a beautiful birds eye view of peacocks readying to fly back ‘home’ to a 300 year old banyan tree. It was fascinating to see them line up in their tens to literally go to a take off point, and fly the distance just before sun set. All this while enjoying the most delicious coffee, namakpaaraas and shakarpaaras that hit a nostalgic childhood note. The connect of the good old days is very alive.
Evening are lazily spent around a well lit bonfire just as it begins to get dark. The first night by the catchment was spent pretty much brushing up our star gazing skills with Teji sharing his infinite knowledge and we following one constellation to another. They do have a telescope up at the Zanana too, but it was unserviceable at the time. That didn’t matter as the night was clear and the stars shone bright! The other thing that shone bright was the food. Never ending goodness of local cuisine appeared at every course. Around the bonfire we enjoyed makki ke pappad, chicken and spinach pakoras with finger liking good chutneys, hari and imli ki chutney.
Just as we thought we couldn’t eat more, it was time for dinner. At Lakshman Sagar, the chefs take great pride in doing salads too, with everything locally sourced and beautifully plated.The vegetables are all sourced from their organic farm around the corner. Chutneys and achaars are a quintessential part of local Rajasthani cuisine, and there are more combinations than you can imagine. We had a different selection at every meal. Crisp fresh linen and possibly the biggest bed I have ever seen, ensured a sound restful sleep, only to be woken up by the calls of peacocks the next morning.
Not sure whether it is more fascination to see peacocks at sundown or at dusk and sunrise, yet we had all times of day leisurely covered. Just as first light hit the horizon, the peacocks flew back one by one from the tree to the hillside across the catchment, each calling the next. It was like the march of peacocks, and then they settled over this side for the day.
And if there are so many peacocks, can feathers be far behind? The daughter collected hundreds of feathers from across the property much to her glee. Nothing to do suited her just fine! She had a go at the potters wheel, also at fishing though she didn’t catch a single fish! We were told that you either need a ton of patience OR luck to catch one.
Before feathers and fishing, there was breakfast. It was delightful to put it mildly. I love the luxury of bespoke vacations. Eat when you like and what you like; also if need be, where you like! Everything is delivered with ease, efficiency and huge smiles. No one’s in a hurry, the pace is leisurely, which also means that you end up eating a lot. The good thing about slow living is that you walk a lot too, to burn it off.Breakfast day 1 was something like this – Fresh orange juice, maize dalia, googri {overnight soaked and cooked wheat kernels and horsegram}, sapota/cheeku jam, gum berry jam, fresh fruit, gur/jaggery, boora, honey, achaar, masala omelet, fire roasted tomato. Nothing refined or processed. Pertinently, every member of staff knows every ingredient, every dish, the origins as well as the recipe. That was quite intriguing!
Post the potters wheel and idling away angling, we languished by our pool back in the room for a bit.
It was difficult to put the camera down. I wish I had a lens for wildlife photography. My kit lens wasn’t the best for this, but we caught a few antelopes / neelgai by the waterhole, tried to catch the turtles in the catchment pool, and a few ducks too.
What the camera couldn’t capture, the mind certainly did. Birds we saw included the lapwing, spotted owl, kingfisher, egret, dove, green pigeon, comorant, wagtail, parrot, tern, swallow, heron, sunbird, babbler, robin, bulbul, wagtail, waterhen, starling, bee eater, koel and ducks of every kind. You can go bird watching and spot up to 150 different species. Dyal Singh, Teji’s deputy, is like a bird encyclopedia!
Amazingly it was time to eat again! Lunch was simple yet lavish – moongori sabzi, spring onion, methi aloo, a feta beet salad {the basil flavoured feta was locally made & divine}, sesame/til chutney, garlic chutney, mixed veg pickle, pomegranate raita, masoor dal, jowar roti, coriander pulao. Everything was freshly prepared and bursting with flavour. Ended with a chefs special sweet, ghewar, again a quintessential part of local cuisine.It’s always fun to drop by the local marketplace/business district to get a feel of any city, to discover it’s essence. Dyal Singh, was sweet enough to drive us there, stopping first at the local spice market. Since chilies were the only spice in season and being voraciously traded, that’s all the eye could see. What a splendid sight, made even better by a flock of sheep that came along. More entertainment. I’d never have thought that sheep eat chilies. They do, by the mouthfuls!! And they appeared to enjoy the mouthfuls they grabbed, until they were herded away.
We took a quick trip down to the local village in Raipur. It had the quintessential closeness of a small town feel as we walked through the narrow single lane market, much like a high street. The colours, the sights, the sounds, local language all fascinate.The shops were an eclectic mix of odds and ends. Who would expect a cold pressed sesame oil being milled freshly, a gun maker, a show maker and such shops rubbing shoulders along the street. Not much to shop here rather to my disappointment, actually nothing at all! Yet the walk through was quite an experience, a market held within two old city gates.Also within the gates was the privately owned Raipur Fort, one of the few such heritage sites that has royalty in residence. It’s a beautiful property but clearly in need of restoration as the unoccupied parts have fallen to ruins.Built in true traditional Rajasthani architecture, you can see remnants of royal days gone by, replete with jharokas, a sheesh mahal, domes, arches, stained glass and a beautiful stone courtyard. I believe they are looking to restore this portion to offer it as a heritage hotel in the region.
Also at the property was the sweet black royal filly Raj Rani who was quite pleased to have company. She was the sweetest little horse ever, nibbling away at my wrists and nuzzling my hands. Cacophony added to the otherwise peaceful surroundings with two geese cackling away quite loudly, clearly alarmed by our sudden appearance! I jumped off Dyal Singhs jeep to shoot a gypsy camp enroute too.We were soon on our away back to Lakshman Sagar to be greeted by a fragrant refreshing saffron basil cooler, AND fresh fish that had just been caught {much to the daughters horror who swore never to angle again!}. The fish was part of dinner served that night, but that wasn’t all.That evening saw more of what this beautiful resort offers. A qawwali by local musicians resonated through the night, touching our souls and offering the best of Rajasthani soul music. Rustic, deep throated and vibrant music echoed across the resort, as we headed for a live cooking class led by Teji and his master chef! It’s a great way to get close to local cuisine and see first hand what Indian cooking offers. There were guests from the UK as well, and they were clearly enjoyed the mogri beans, and rabdi pasta being stirred up. These dishes would soon be served up for dinner!While the remaining of dinner was being cooked in the kitchen, we sat around the well lit beautiful bonfire, enjoying starters. On the menu was a bbq chicken and tandoori cauliflower {gobhi} served with delicious chutneys again. Also rice papad. Dinner a short while later included haldi matar sabzi, dal, mogri, fish curry, rabdi pasta, and a pulao. Dessert was an earthy rustic atta jaggery halwa which was delicious to say the least!
Been a busy time since we got here to do nothing. This nothing got better and better. The next morning was to offer yet another highlight of our stay, a field breakfast.
Nothing prepares you for a peep into the local culture and lifestyle, and it was well managed by the team. It’s worth the 2 km walk across the rugged rocky terrain which lies just outside the property. What a pleasant morning it was!
The neatly laid tables and machans that greet you, the residents of the rural farm making fresh flatbread and buttermilk, tamatar ki chutney that’s just come off the fire, all make for quite a memorable experience.For me, also fascinating are home fires, traditional cooking methods, rural lifestyle that is hard to experience first hand and the ambiance of a local farm. To experience their lifestyle at such close quarters was another high-point of our visit. Sheep, goats, cows, puppies, birds, a 60ft well, fields of wheat and barley …Makai and aata flatbeads/roti, fresh homemade sweet butter, freshly churned buttermilk, choorma, masala chai and orange juice made for the most delicious breakfast at the farm. A relaxed walk back, an early lunch {yes food again}, and it was time to leave. We were warmly bid adieu by Teji, Dyal Singh and the team with a traditional serving of gur and dahi for a safe journey.With so much goodness packed into a rather productive weekend dong practically nothing, I know I’ll be back sooner or later. This is one glimpse of India that must be experienced at least once in a lifetime with Sewara. Down to earth, rustic yet luxurious goodness that was amazing!
