The Search Story (Part III)

Option 7 : Gudalur

Dr Sunil was out of town, but he told us that his wife Veena would be home and will be happy to help us. We reached Gudalur after an extended bus travel. Veena received us as though we were immediate family members. We’ve encounter so much kindness during our search from first encounters that it’s truly humbling.

We’d intended staying there for a day or so and ended up spending 3 days with Veena. We’re yet to meet Dr Sunil. Hope to meet him sooner than later. It was, nevertheless, a memorable stay for us as well as the kids.

The land option there was quite nice. Macro factors were all fine. The area was frequented by elephants from the adjoining forest (Madhumalai Tiger Reserve). That was one concern, but probably manageable. We liked the place overall and decided to search for a house on rent. We didn’t find an option during the days we were there and returned to Hulekal with intent to return once we find something within the next week or so.

The thinking began at Hulekal again. As I imagined about getting started with work on the land, I was a little concerned about the fact that I would not be able to talk with the people around and the labour who’d come to help us. I don’t speak Tamil. That would surely make it difficult to build a rapport, though over a period of time, we’d be able to communicate. But communicating without talking would not be enough. I’d like to understand what they think, know more about their lifestyle and learn from it.

As I pondered over deeply and spoke with Rekha, we were convinced that Maharashtra or a hindi speaking belt would only suit us. Even during my Satara stay, I felt very much at home talking to locals in Marathi. Then another factor crept in, which we’d ignored thus far. Given the age of our parents, it would be preferred if we’re in reasonable proximity.

Though no one factor was sufficient, together, it seemed better to explore Maharashtra; more particularly around Pune, Satara and Nasik.

We thought over it for a day or so and when the thought and feeling had settled, decided to take this course. We called Veena and informed her of our latest thought process, lest she should go through the trouble of finding a place on rent for us. She appeared a little sad that we’d decided not to choose Gudalur. We could relate to it, but couldn’t think of an option.

I called Reena. She had purchased a 3 acre plot of land near Pune. I asked her if she’d be open to selling an acre to us. She was inclined. We got a decent starting point to our search.

We shared our intention with Vinish and Karuna that we’d like to shift our base to somewhere close to Pune or Mumbai. We’d been based in Hulekal for almost a month. The couple may think that they’d not done anything out of the way. They’d anyway rented the house and no one had been occupying it before they invited us to stay there. But we know that the gesture is uncommon and we truly feel grateful to this family.

We packed the car with our kitchen and bedroom utilities and began the drive from Hulekal to Pune.

Option 8: Velhe

Velhe is a small town about 55 km from Pune. Reena purchased the 3 acre plot on the outskirts of a village in this town few years back.

We parked ourselves with a cousin of mine, who owns a large 3 bedroom flat in Pune. Just the couple of them stay there. We off-loaded our luggage in one of his bedrooms and told him that we’d like to be parked in his house for a few days till we’re able to identify something worthwhile.

After visiting the place, we liked it and decided to live in Velhe for a few days before we move ahead. Fortunately, we found a house on rent quickly and shifted to this place about 10 days back. The initial exploration is quite encouraging and if all goes well, we might be staying in our own new house before the end of summer 2014.

The flashback is over, but the story continues!