Delhi Girl Bids Goodbye To City Life, Now Runs ‘Café In The Woods’ In Himalayan Village!
chaitra krishnanMA (Journalism & Mass Communication) Experience: 5 yearsChaitra has a triple main bachelor’s degree in journalism, communicative English, and economics from St. Aloysius College, Mangalore, and a master’s degree in journalism and mass communication from St... more
Image: Instagram
Hilltops and mountains are always on our list whenever we think of a holidaying. And, why not? They offer us adventurous trekking experiences and also let us enjoy the luxury of a relaxing vacation. But how many of you have thought about leaving your comfortable life in a city to move to a village in the mountains? No matter how beautiful it sounds, the thought about losing access to all your easy-peasy facilities in the city might make you take a step back. You wouldn’t want to miss those Saturday night parties and shopping in the malls on a sale day, right? Well, that’s how most of us think, but there’s one person who chose the different route. 5 years ago, Nitya Budharaja left the comfort of an urban upbringing to move to the mountains that were calling out to her.
Nitya who was a Delhi girl worked in the event management sector before moving to Sattal, a place located near famous hill stations like Nainital and Bhimtal. She runs a cafe and a vacation home service there and has made the mountains and valleys a part of her home. Let’s take a look at Nitya’s journey from Delhi to Sattal.
The Inherited Love For Mountains
Nitya’s interest in Sattal or the life in the mountains didn’t pop up one fine day out of the blue. The story goes back to her childhood days when her father would take her to the mountains quite often. According to Nitya, her father loved the mountains and found his home in Sattal much earlier than she did. “He was smitten with the mountains, and always wanted to acquire a patch of land and team up with like-minded people to create a private living space. However, when the deal was all set to happen, the villagers forced him to purchase an entire village that comprised of two mountains and a valley. People had abandoned their homes there but wanted to move to the next village for better livelihood opportunities,” she said during an interview with a popular online portal.
When all this was happening, Nitya lead a typical Delhi girl life and made all the effort to fit in like most of the others. Once she started working in the event management sector, she realized that she was lost in Delhi’s lure and everything she did was pointless. Nitya recollected, “But the amount of wastage that followed every event, eventually got to me and led to disillusionment with the work that I was doing. It all seemed so pointless — an event lasting less than four hours generated waste that would last forever. I wanted to leave that life to seek something better.”
The First Step Towards The Valleys
Once she realized she needed a change, Nitya joined hands with a Delhi-based travel company that sent people on treks to various places in the Himalayan region. During this time, she developed a great interest in photography and filled her Instagram with the beautiful colors of the panorama. Unfortunately, the company had to shut down but Nitya had already gained the experience and direction that she was seeking. Being a trek organizer and leader made her realize how much she craved for a life in the valleys and her dreams sprouted wings when she got a job in Liti, as the manger of a seasonal property.
The property was located in a place where there was a shortage of water, electricity, and proper network. After managing it or six months, Nitya felt if she could get through this task, she can perhaps manage anything. Nitya then worked with Nanda Devi Handloom Cooperative in a village near Kasar Devi that provided a way to livelihood for about two hundred rural women. It was during this time her father passed away and she had to take over the management of the little township in Sattal that he had already developed. So, Nitya moved to Sattal with her mother three years ago. Today she runs ‘Babs Café in the Woods’ and a homestay, ‘Naveen’s Glen,’ both named after her mother and father respectively.
After seeing the kind of waste that was produced in the city, Nitya wanted a development that was sustainable for Sattal. Her father had built cottages that had solar panels and rainwater harvesting setups and Nitya followed his path. Nitya and her family planted around seven thousand trees in the area to add more to the area and to develop a better underground water table. She has a team of seventeen villagers who work closely with her and another group of fifty who are employed in the estate.
Apart from developing a village without ripping apart its natural beauty and employing the people there, Nitya and her family have adopted a government school in the area. This journey may sound beautiful and easy but it’s not something that all of us would be capable of doing. However, if you truly want to make a change for yourself and others, know that there’s nothing that can stop you. Did this story inspire you? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
