Carmel Homestay

An oasis – in the concrete city that Bengaluru is turning into. Oasis that other than being a fabulous stay option, nourishes the mind and soul too. Perhaps the names of rivers assigned to the different rooms have a reason the owners didn't think of.... Why the high praise? To begin with, as a family we experienced something that was deep and in no sense limited to the stay option. We were in Bengaluru to drop off our elder one at the University for graduation studies, a residential arrangement where she would be away from us for course duration. Mr and Mrs Joseph, with their warmth, made it a natural transition for us, where we ended up feeling we were with extended family – this did not come about in view of any special efforts, they were just being their kind selves, engaging with us as if we had known each other from much before. Beyond this, we came back so much richer – inspired by nuggets from Mr Joseph's wide travel experiences across the world, that he has penned in Malayalam as 'Connecting the Dots'. With our slow Malayalam reading skills, we so await the translated English version. Of course, still hope to break down the Malayalam version at our sweet pace to attempt nil loss in translation. What is more, turns out the host has a clearer understanding of Hindu religion than us, Hindus incidentally!! His current project is his interpretation of The Gita. As for the lady of the house, Mrs Joseph, she is the iron lady who paints, cooks, manages the show behind the stage with such finesse, you could easily miss she existed. They are such a power couple, with nil pretensions, it blows the mind! Takeaways for us from the trip? Some deep lessons to take ahead as life projects. Be able to analyze, take grip of the constant tussle between the good and evil within us (that is the real Gita). Limit the dead moments that we have each day, each hour – to say, engage ourselves productively to the maximum. Shed the ego and ignorance before life jolts us to do the same involuntarily! Be fearless in the genuine sense as we, in true sense, are on an unknown journey, and are not even behind the wheel! And so much more – the ones identified here a note to ourselves, to never forget. Hope to be better beings for the stay. And learn more in trips ahead to the beautiful household that is the Josephs. Much blessed.