All ready to welcome guests!

Yes, finally! Our dream comes true and "Chaitraban" is ready to welcome guests. We have had a stream of guests all weekends but now, we can officially say, Chaitraban invites all our special guests. With the kid's homework and swimming costumes packed and ready on friday evening, we leave early on saturday and reach there where a steaming hot lunch is waiting for us. After lunch, my husband usually retires for a much-awaited and much-deserved siesta, the kids retire to the attic room for some board games and I potter about in the garden, checking out a new sapling, a new nest hidden in the bushes or a new beehive among the bunds. Evening is family time with some outdoor games with the children. Dinner is again served hot on the porch which is fragrant with night jasmine and passion flowers. It tastes all the more better with only the stars above us and the moon smiling on Chaitraban in the dark night.



The house at Chaitraban

Early morning is the most beautiful time of the day at Chaitraban with the golden glow of the rising sun, the chirping of the birds (there are hundreds of them nesting in the new plants), the numerous butterflies hovering over the beautiful new flowers, the smiling lilies in the pond, the fish waking up to the sound of feet indicating feeding time and waggy jumping over the bunds in anticipation of a pat oh his head. The mountains are also waking up with the sky getting bluer by the second and the fresh new monsoon carpet of grass looking greener! I am awake and about checking out on the plants and new fruit, saying 'hi' to each and every one of them.

I sometimes walk down to the river and sit on my favourite rock in the silence, only broken by the occasional song of a morning bird. I love to watch the water birds swimming in pairs with the little ones waddling behind them trying to catch a small fish. It is a lovely sight and I am selfish enough to hope that no other human being comes along to break the symphony of nature. When the sun rays are too warm I retire to the house for a hot cuppa with poha...The kids are up and about running up and down the wooden staircase with waggy jumping about behind them. The morning is spent lazing about the house and garden till a yummy lunch of chicken rassa is devoured by all. It is time to read one of the books from our small liabrary and kids do their homework. Evening time is beautiful too with the cool breeze on our faces. But now, it is time to drive back home to Mumbai. The hard work of all has paid off and was worth every effort taken by us and all the wonderful friends who have helped us.

We take back the fresh air in our lungs and lovely sights in our hearts and mind to store for a week until it is time to return back to Chaitraban next weekend!