A drive to Hasserghatta in Bangalore shifts perspectives slowly but surely about the kind of city we live in. Yes, we have to first pass through Bangalore’s sooty lungs but then arrive the colonies of banyans, the silver oak avenues, the gentle green hamlets and simple
rusticity. Though truth be told, like every where else in the city, you don’t really know just how long will it be before land hungry, grasping politicians and the powerful builder lobby that chops off acres of trees to create townships with ‘sylvan’ names, will descend here and take away the yet untouched expanses. But even here, the occasional glassy eyed building underscores the lopsided formula of urban growth that swallows everything in its way.
It won’t be long before the pace of life begins to grow breathless, sweaty and urgent here. Taj’s quaint little resort Kuteeram however quietly celebrates a seamless synergy of the past with the present. It is rustic enough to inspire nostalgia and luxurious enough to keep up with young families and IT professionals who flock the property every weekend, looking for both relief and a gentler version of recreation. The kind where you sit around a bonfire and bond with your family or just hear your thoughts in a meditation dome. Kuteeram is earth-bound and reflective and won its architect Gerard D Cunha a national award. It is a place for those who prefer the crunch of gravel underfoot to weekend club hopping though occasionally it becomes a noisy wedding venue or a conference hub as well.
The soul that animates every particle here is ofcourse Protima Bedi’s. It was she who conceived both Kuteeram and also Nrityagram which is just a few paces from here and is a sacred space for both dancers and those who just come here to pay their respects to a woman who lived her dreams and fought financial constraints and bureaucratic red tape to ensure that others may live theirs too through her vision.
Even today the vitality of her vision can be felt in every stone arch at Kuteeram even though it has been taken over by the Taj management and has no obvious connection with Nrityagram. But still everyone who comes to Kuteeram does go to Nrityagram.
Kuteeram today has marketed itself as a culture slice for corporate clients and their foreign business partners. As a retreat for couples. And the Taj branding has resulted in annual weather-proofing and maintenance and the resort has grown attuned to modern needs in terms of its creature comforts. And yet, it retains the integrity of De Cunha’s design that in an almost surreal manner flows around the lobby, creating domes and archways, willing structures made of the earth to rise, weaving a raw granite, brick and stone tapestry of details within details.
Organic is truly luxurious here as rustic exteriors open to six cosy circular rooms and three languid suites. Gravel and stone pathways embrace wild flower slopes. A bunch of quarrelling geese snuggle under a bush hung with red trumpets or paddle under a bridge. Yes, there is a bridge above the pond. As also a water fountain. Long-limbed sculptures. Lotus pads. Raw granite verandahs with built in seats.
The last time I was here, a click in an old fashioned pad lock had let us in our circular room. Our baggage was placed on built-in, red oxide seats and in a cane matted wardrobe. The roof was the show-stopper though. Without any visible support, a dome fashioned out of circles of rough bricks rose breathtakingly, dizzyingly above the walls. Also in the room were traditional slat windows, stenciled walls and a red-oxide, masonry bed rising out of the floor. The bathroom with its theme of broken tile mosaic was an efficient, modern space with running hot water and more.
It is always wonderful to wake up early in Kuteeram to see the morning stealing into your room through the coloured glass panes of a window. And to walk through the grassy trails, side-step snails and pick up and smell scattered frangipani blossoms.
The meditation hall we referred to earlier is a circular, hyper acoustic space but if you want something more physically demanding than what this sanctuary promises than go climb up a mini watchtower. Or after an exhausting cycle ride around the property, just relax with a newspaper under a large, sheltering tree that stands, arms extended in the center of the property. Or sit by yourself on the terrace with a cup of coffee.
Or feast on eggs, masala appams and fresh fruit in the restaurant verandah.
Or just rediscover what it is like to just soak in silence and sunlight and the feeling of fullness in the here and now without the natter of FM radio, door bells, honking cars and a city hurtling through noise towards an invisible rainbow.
For more information, contact-http://www.tajhotels.com/Leisure/Kuteeram,BANGALORE/recreation.htm