Navadarshanam

The other day when I’d gone to this store ‘shop for a cause’ to buy my home composter, I noticed they had organic food on sale and from Navadarshanam. Because it was from Navadarshanam, I picked up a bottle of Aavakai.

I opened it yesterday and it blew me….it was so good….finger lickin’ good. And it took me back to the trip I’d taken to Navadarshanam, all of 4 years back.

Navadarshanam, is this small commune around 50 kms outside of Bangalore, near Ganganahally village off the Anekal road. It’s a community of around fifteen to twenty folks who decided to, so to say, move away from the madding crowd and create for themselves an alternate way of life. In their own words they are looking to explore ecological and spiritual alternatives to the modern way of living.

Its origin can be traced to a study circle of the Gandhi Peace Foundation of IIT Delhi, way back in the 1970s and 80s, and from there the concept was made a reality in late 1990s.

The entire place has this really rustic feel to it, with everything being eco focused. Even the houses are built to be eco friendly; aesthetic and close to nature.  The houses are spaced out such that standing outside one house you almost can't see any of the other houses. High on privacy even within the commune. They boast of almost no electronic gadgets, no ACs, no fridge, no fans and definitely no TVs, and what’s more their lighting is entirely solar powered. When I called them to check if I could come and see the place, this gentleman called Nagarajan ( if my memory serves me right), says…..we’re really not a place you come and see you know, it’s a way of life, you’ll need to stay a couple of days to experience it. I then didn’t live in Bangalore and I convinced him I was super keen, and while I couldn't stay two days, I would still like to spend the day, and that’s what we did. They essentially encourage people who can connect with identify with their principles and way of life. Girija and I made a day trip there.

It was simply wonderful. It's a way of life that is simple, quiet, yet deep. By simple, I mean very removed from the typically materialistic or consumerist life of urban living. Quiet, in a literal and metaphorical sense too...literal, is because it's in the midst of nature and what you hear are mostly nature noises, and metaphorical as they have also distanced themselves from the social circle with its occasions and expectations. It's deep, for being simple and quiet, plus a more consciously internalized way of life.

One fundamental thing is that you don't own the property, you build your own house, designed per your want, live in it until you want to or to the end, and I think you can kind of bequeath to your children though I'm not sure of that, but the property belongs to the trust. It's about living in the now.

They have a community kitchen with the most amazing food. Cooking is done by local women and the community members. Simple, wholesome and organic, I had the best ever pulihogare there. If food were taken as symbolic, and like a parallel to life.........and organic food can taste like that as compared to what stuff from the super market tastes today, I’d be really apprehensive of delving into what this whole move away from nature has done to life in general.

They have access to neither newspaper nor books, and to me that was like appalling, so when I ask how….he goes ‘this is chewing the cud time’. Well, more evolved folks I guess.

I don’t have my own pictures from the trip, but here’s one I found online. It’s on this tinne, (verandah) that girija and I spent the whole afternoon just experiencing the serenity and spiritual aura of the place, and we definitely returned enriched for the experience.

                                                       

(Pic credit: Anita Bora...with thanks)

For those who might want to know more, here's the link: Navadarshanam