Surjivan-Village Tourism

" All the academics in the world may write a much as they want, in as many fancy words as they can about this country and its people, their plight and their struggles but it will always be wanting.  For it cannot and never will hold comparison to what is out there to be seen, to be felt, and to be heard on our own." 
-SBI YFI Fellow Akshay Kumar in the Book "Experiences of SBI Youth for India Fellows in Rural India.

Khus fields in Surjivan

The words of the youngster quoted above rang a bell when I returned from Surjivan, a village approved for "village tourism" by the Haryana Government.  Here is a resort which makes a valiant effort to connect with the 21st century mall city of Gurgaon. 

About 40kms from Gurgaon driving through the Jaipur highway for about 15kms and then through metaled roads, one can reach the village.  For just Rs 950/- per person, you can enjoy the ambiance of the 50 acres, take guided tours and partake in an organic lunch cooked the traditional way.  All the ingredients used for cooking are grown organically in the 40 acre organic farm, which also boasts of a chicken farm and milch cows.

While sipping the welcome drink of masala lassi, we watched a large group of young families walk in.  Children were frolicking all over in no time leaving parents to chat and enjoy their drinks and music. It was a Sunday-a well reserved holiday for these back office employees.  Yet no one seemed to be complaining.  " I am glad to escape the claustrophobia of....." ,  I overheard a young smartly dressed lady remarking.

The manager, offered to show us around.   We have all the facilities for adventure games, he started and insisted that we first take a look at these.   The last part of "Survivor Series" on Television was shot here, he proudly proclaimed. 

Where are the herbal gardens?  In the very next plot, our guide answered.  Also the main ground has many local trees and ancient plants. 

Lemon pansy on lavender plant

Bakul plant

Kalpavriksh or Wish Tree

We were informed that the big "Kalpavriksh tree" the resort had earlier grown, died, suffocated by the red threads tied by believers!

"Reetha" the seeds of which are commonly used by villagers for washing clothes and their hair, is also a rarely seen plant these days.

As we watched village artisans giving the final touches to a motif, drongos and parakeets announced their roosting time and we realized that we need to drive back to Gurgaon before the highway gets choked by office commuters.

The resort has twelve mud huts complete with cow-dung plaster on floor and mud beds and seats- also equipped with fans, air conditioners and attached baths with geysers.  All these come at a price though.   The solar panels support lights and fans but geysers and a.cs are run in winter and summer using Diesel generators.  

Surjivan is a bold attempt to connect Maximum City dwellers with nature- Spend a day there and you realise what it is that we miss in Big Cities-Again I quote our young friend Akshay Kumar of SBI Youth for India

" Gone were all delusions of "uplifting them", wanting to make them more like us and it was replaced by shame, shame about my own superfluous sense of superiority that had led me to believe that my way of life was something better and worth being forced on them."

The Season of Blues

The Jacaranda tree is in full bloom with blue -violet flowers





Spring is here in Gurgaon with cool mornings and evenings. What we call, beautiful weather. When spring comes with a tinge of cold, rather than an abrupt change from cold to hot, the colours are vivid and rare beauties bloom.




The above flower is called bachelor button and it is mostly blue in colour.




More bachelor buttons among pink flocks

The iris lily forgot to bloom last year as the summer came swift and strong. But this year one eagerly awaited the blooms hiding inside wrinkled leaves of the lily.




Young Iris bloom



Full bloom Iris Lily

But the highlight of the early spring is always the appearance of Common jay butterfly, that streak of blue in flight, but whose underside blends well with the surroundings, with hardly a hint of blue.



Common Jay resting on the kitchen garden hedge.



Common Jay in flight

The Blue pansy also appears sucking in wet mud and taking a break on the Ashoka leaves



The crowning glory of the season this year, was of course our own blue cricket team who lifted the world cup after 28 years!

Monsoon Raindrops

This year Gurgaon and entire Haryana is experiencing the monsoon in "Raindrops" and not sheets of rain like it did last year.

The promising clouds disappeared as soon as a few drops fell into the earth. Even the jade plant who does not need much water to grow seemed to treasure them like jewels!

The yellow lilies I planted two years ago bloomed all on a sudden as if to welcome the rain with open arms!

'Valley of Flowers' in Gurgaon

The Japanese art form of flower arrangement was organized by the Gurgaon chapter of Ikebana International at Epicentre.




Avers Ms Indira Misra, President Gurgaon Chapter

"This Japanese art of floral arrangement is different as it follows a Buddhist philosophy. This is an art as it has a recorded history. However, with time this has also evolved and now there are three different schools, namely, Ohara, Sogetsu and Ikenobo which is the most classical style.



More than simply putting flowers in a container, Ikebana is a disciplined art form in which nature and humanity are brought together. Though Ikebana is a creative expression, it has certain rules governing its form.



All the elements used in construction must be organic, be they branches, leaves, grasses or flowers. The artist's intention behind each arrangement is shown through a piece's colour combinations, natural shapes, graceful lines and the usually implicit meaning of the arrangement. The container is also a key element of the composition and various styles of pottery may be used in their construction.



Writes Ekta Saxena in "Gurgaon Explorer"

"Spiritual aspect of Ikebana is considered very important to its practitioners. Silence is a must during practices of Ikebana. It is a time to appreciate things in nature that people often overlook because of their busy lives. One becomes more patient and tolerant of differences, not only in nature, but also in general. Ikebana can inspire to identify with beauty in all art forms. This is also the time when one feels closeness to nature which provides relaxation for the mind, body and soul."

For a slide show of more pictures please click HERE.