GB’s Blog No 16 On 3rd August, during a short visit to Kolkata, my sister presented a box of Jigsaw puzzle pieces to Ishaan (Matuiti), my 3 year old grandson. The special character of the puzzle, remembered by my sister as Matuiti’s passion, searched and procured, was the depiction of heavy machinery and equipment […]
Trees R Us
GB’s Blog No 15 Something new: A Walk-A-Talk on the healing power of trees Many of our guests, over the last few years, had shown a genuine interest in the plant and tree wealth of Svanir. They wanted to know what some fancied tree or plant was, how we achieved a jungle look in our […]
Homage to the Green World
GB’ Blog 11 Svanir is our “Sacred grove”. I believe in my heart of hearts that many benign spirits of the plant kingdom live here. Since we have always sided with the trees over bricks – often to the chagrin of civil engineers and contractors, the benign spirits will caution us of danger as well […]
What’s in a name?
GB’s Blog No 15 I could never fathom why naming the guest rooms of our homestay had to be shelved for so long. After my initial attempt to arrive at a consensus I, like a typical bureaucrat, postponed the decision. Yet, I am convinced that every family abode needs a name, an identity. Whenever I […]
What Activities?
Guestly Notes 2 While wilderness lovers are happy to be in the midst of nature, others staying at Svanir for other reasons often ask, “What are the activities available”? What they actually mean are the indoor activities. A family from Germany, while having breakfast became curious about an item leaning against one wall of the […]
Post Covid safety measures.
GB’s Blog 9 Nature is the best disinfectant. There are no two opinions. Sunshine and fresh air are the best disinfectants, and free! Svanir architecture and layout, over one acre of extensive tree cover, adjacent to the greenery of a Wildlife sanctuary meets the criteria. We have three, independently placed twin cottages. Each room is […]
Corona Clampdown
GB’s BLOG NO 5 With the welfare of our house guests in mind, we joined in with the preventive measures taken by the State of Odisha by suspending all bookings till April 2020. To be sure, we also had in mind the health of the youngest member of the Svanir family – baby Ishaan. My […]
Emergency Situation (COVID-19): Social Distancing
Following state government’s directives regarding containing the spread of COVID-19, we are temporarily suspending our homestay operations. Stay Safe and please do your bit to stop the spread of the virus.