The many faces of retreat

Experience_ unforgettable sunset and sunrise at Gaj. #TCBG_Trips #GajRetreat

Someone rightly pointed out that it takes more courage to retreat than to advance. After all, to retreat, in the parlance of generals and commanders is to regroup, rejuvenate, and be ready for another assault. A retreat thus isn’t about forgetting the art of advancing but just another effective method to re-energize, replenish, regroup, and regain the right focus. Another truth is that we are all fighting battles all the time and need to understand the art of retreating well. This is because even thoughts and ideas get tired and exhaustion of this sort can be nothing but unproductive for anyone doing just about anything… which simply means that every time one travels to remote places, one gets more than one has asked for. I travelled with a few bloggers to Gaj Retreat some days back and am certainly happy for having opted for this trip. The experiences here have impelled me to write this post on the various faces of retreat as I had indeed retreated from the clamor of social media notifications and entered an entirely different zone of sanity.

Now because I’ve begun this post with soldiers on my mind, let me add that they do not have an exclusive right over adventure… and I’m not talking here of typical civilian urban adventures that involve glaring at errant drivers on traffic-infested roads, getting ahead in an airport boarding queue on the sly, or buying an expensive book just because the two girls browsing that section thought it was a brilliant read. I’m talking of some real stuff like driving ATVs on untamed territory, some night off-roading, staring into the eyes of an angry bull, a starlit barbecue by the river, driving an SUV on the river-bed where the depth doesn’t need a boat, and of course, watching the sun rise as well as set on a valley where predators sometimes prowl. These are some of the adventures that fill a heart with all the energy that has been sapped by long walks through mall aisles and lengthy discussions on the validity of GST.

Adventure_ATV at sunset. #TCBG_Trips #GajRetreat

Adventure_SUV through the shallow river. #TCBG_Trips #GajRetreat

Adventure_night off-roading through the wilderness. #TCBG_Trips #GajRetreat

Adventure needs undulating terrain that has wilderness written all over it. Adventure needs a certain investment in equipment and support. Adventure needs the right sort of surroundings where one gets to hear sounds stranger than strains of old Bollywood hits, that is, the gurgle of a river flowing somewhere in the darkness ahead, the rustle of leaves that could very well be an animal on the prowl, the sound of crickets and the an unimpeded view of the stars above – only when all these things happen together that adventure is born. For some it may be sitting in an SUV and rushing through overgrown grass and bushes on a terrain where there are no tracks… and for others it could very well be in a somewhat different experience. Great experiences would include sitting by the river after sunset and having a refreshing drink or two accompanied by the juiciest pieces of chicken and paneer barbecued to perfection.

What about day-time adventure and experiences? Well, even these should complement the ones after dark. A visit to a dairy farm where one can walk around a group of cows, buffaloes, and calves and watch them doing all that cattle normally do. This will be so different from honking angrily at cows that squat in the middle of city roads swishing their tail as if they couldn’t care less. Or one could drive to the nearest village where a potter family stays and either watch him create lovely terracotta marvels or even sit down and allow potter’s clay to be the therapist of your city-bred stress. I mean one could create something surely on the potter’s wheels and then feel happy of having done so. There could be, for some, simpler experiences of getting up early and listening to birdsongs that are as diverse dealing with octaves as the sunrise is with chromatic hues.

Now the question is if I had all or at least some of the experiences mentioned above? Well, I was a part of most of them at Gaj Retreat and , in addition, I also realized that I was staying in structures that may have been given modern nomenclature but were inspired by a wish to make a day full of eco-awareness. I looked closely at the way the roof was made or the way natural sourcing of building material was done and I knew anyone without any sense of the protection of our environment would also become a fan of this movement.

Gaj Retreat_ecofriendly construction. #TCBG_Trips #GajRetreat

Gaj Retreat_Eco-friendly material used. #TCBG_Trips #GajRetreat

It is only reasonable to also add here that this retreat isn’t the final word in adoption of eco-friendly steps. They do have plastics and other non-biodegradable stuff peeping at you from behind their guise. These obviously need to go fast. Even the activities like exploration of life in a village and the adventure excursions need a fair bit of tweaking, for instance, when we were visiting the dairy farm and were full of pictures of cows, bulls, and buffaloes someone asked if they could watch these cattle get milked.

‘This isn’t the right time,’ said the worker, ‘You must be here at four in the afternoon as that is when they are ready for milking.’

Adventure_ facing the angry bull protecting his harem. #TCBG_Trips #GajRetreat

Simple. Timings are what matter. Even the potter was having his meal when we barged in. Yes, the fellow was good enough to still prime his wheel and show us how things are done but some of us did feel as if we had butted in. I think all this will eventually be done as the retreat is barely an year old and needs productive and positive feedback to start sprinting in the right direction at the right pace. Even as things stand, the place does exude a charm that is unbeatable. I must mention here that it was only during the ATV ride that I realized that even the tentative route was as yet undecided and so we had an expert leading the way. The way through the wild undergrowth did leave me a bit disgusted as there were spots where old plastic and jute bags were dumped, unused construction material lying around in spots, and the path was barbarically untamed, if I’m allowed to use this phrase. The path for such an activity needs to be adequately wild but should have been completely mapped in a way that safety was present without being obtrusive.

Experience_pottery making. #TCBG_Trips #GajRetreat

Experience_tools of the potter. #TCBG_Trips #GajRetreat

Ah! But let me not digress from my point of defining retreat. Just add the article ‘a’ and ‘a retreat’ has all the potential to become a point for ultimate relaxation through adventure and culture indulgence, if that is what a person wishes for. Foir the rest, there is always the option of lying around beside the pool or chase birds and butterflies on easy short treks through the villages on this plateau near Garhshankar, near Hoshiarpur. A short discussion with the owner revealed that this place has been used for pre-wedding shoots with Queenstown Heli Wedding, Punjabi video shoots, corporate meetings, weddings, themed weddings, and even weekend chill-outs. They even shared the favorite custom handmade engagement rings Sydney store of most brides and grooms. ‘Nice,’ I remarked, ‘However, what I’d want to know is how and what you plan to give back to the locals in the area.’

‘We are providing employment to people from the surrounding villages,’ said the owner, Nagendra, ‘and we have schools and colleges up and running. There are medical camps that we hold every once in a while and we are tying up visits and activities with all that is done in these villages.’

These are attempts that cannot really be over-looked. There will always be the business-model and profitability angles to care for but if the development of the under-privileged is taken care of, a few discrepancies can be given time for rectification.

The many faces of retreat or ‘a retreat’ do converge into the wish to emerge with a refreshed perspective and a new energized form… this is what happens to platoons that retreat and this is also what happens to those who travel to places like Gaj Retreat for a few days.

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Gaj Retreat_at night. #TCBG_Trips #GajRetreat

Gaj Retreat_Tents. #TCBG_Trips #GajRetreat

Gaj Retreat_Chateaus. #TCBG_Trips #GajRetreat

Experience_the wild side of nature. #TCBG_Trips #GajRetreat

The photographers by the river. #TCBG_Trips #GajRetreat

Experience_The barbecue by the river. #TCBG_Trips #GajRetreat

Experience_the drinks by the river. #TCBG_Trips #GajRetreat

Experience_joy by the pool. #TCBG_Trips #GajRetreat

Experience_birds and bird songs. #TCBG_Trips #GajRetreat

View of the valley. #TCBG_Trips #GajRetreat

The blogger group at Gaj. #TCBG_Trips #GajRetreat

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Arvind Passey
02 October 2017