It is no secret that Kolkata is one of my favorite places in India. I have sent many clients to this fascinating city, which is crowded and chaotic, but immensely satisfying. For a change of pace after exploring Kolkata, I suggest several nights at a heritage hotel in the villages of West Bengal. I recently visited two properties located in renovated mansions that offer superb comfort and excellent service.
Raypur, West Bengal, January 2025 - Rajbari Bawali is the 300-year-old home of a former zamindar (feudal landlord) of West Bengal. Set among four acres of tropical gardens, this boutique hotel has huge rooms, a swimming pool, several restaurants, and a shop selling local handicrafts. It also has a moody, subterranean bar comprised of former prison cells (repurposed for a much better use). It is only two hours by car from Kolkata, making it an easy add-on to a longer tour in this region.
Azimganj, West Bengal, January 2025 - Bari Kothi (Palace of the Elder) is a bit farther away from Kolkata – five hours by car – thus warranting a stay of two or three nights. This restored palace is owned by a family of Sherwali Jains, a community of financiers and merchants originally hailing from Rajasthan. The guestrooms are beautifully decorated, and the palace serves traditional Sherwali Jain vegetarian cuisine in a collection of stunning dining rooms, including a traditional Durbar Hall with a massive dining table.
Bari Kothi can be used as a base for exploring Murshidabad, former capital of Bengal under the nawabs (hereditary rulers in Mughal India). The city was founded in 1704 by Nawab Murshid Quli Khan, governor of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, when he relocated the capital of Bengal from Dhaka. As the de facto, independent ruler of undivided Bengal (the present-day Indian states of West Bengal, Orissa and Bihar plus Bangladesh), the Nawab of Bengal was extremely powerful.
In the first half of the 18th century, Murshidabad was one of the wealthiest cities in the world due to its robust sericulture industry and its strategic location on the Hoogly River, roughly 200 kilometers upstream from Kolkata. Lucrative industries developed in the region by the nawabs included cotton muslin, saltpetre, gunpowder, ship building, and metal fabrication. The resulting massive wealth fostered the construction of elaborate government buildings, gardens, palaces, mosques, temples and mansions, and attracted merchants from all over India to Murshidabad, including the Sherwali Jains. The ruling nawabs also entered into strategic agreements with French, British, Dutch, Austrian and Danish trading houses, allowing them to establish factories and trading posts in the region.
In 1757, the last Nawab of Bengal was overthrown during the Battle of Plassey, at which point Murshidabad became the British East India Company’s capital in Bengal. Over the next 150 years, Kolkata began to grow in importance, and Murshidabad’s population and prosperity gradually declined, with many of its buildings falling into disrepair. Bari Kothi was built in the late 1700s by the Dudhoria family, who thankfully held on to the property during many lean years. They recently undertook a complicated, five-year restoration project to bring the palace back to its former glory for visitors to enjoy, and the results are quite spectacular.
Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, January 2025 - I was shaking with excitement as I boarded my two-hour flight from Kolkata to Port Blair, capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Situated deep in the Bay of Bengal, 800 miles south of Kolkata, this union territory of India comprises 572 islands, only 38 of which are inhabited. I was drawn here initially by the promise of its pristine beaches and spectacular coral reefs, but I was also hoping to learn about its protected indigenous tribes and its troubled history as a British penal colony.
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are the peaks of an ancient mountain range that stretches from Myanmar to Indonesia. Due to its strategic location near the Strait of Malacca, the islands are crawling with Indian military; the Andaman and Nicobar Command is operated jointly by the army, air force and navy. The closest (reliable) cell phone service originates in Thailand and Malaysia, not from the Indian mainland. The nearest full-service hospital is located in these countries as well, which impacts the viability of "mature" visitors participating in water sports...more on this below.
Research suggests that the indigenous people of the islands arrived here over 30,000 years ago, during the Middle-to-Late Paleolithic era. It is believed that they became stranded on the islands, and thus completely isolated from other groups migrating during the same period. There are currently six indigenous tribes still living on the islands - the Jarawa, the Onge, the Great Andamese, the Sentinelese, the Nicobarese and the Shompens. Several of these groups have integrated somewhat with the local population, which includes immigrants from India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Myanmar. Other groups prefer to live an isolated life, and as such, many parts of the islands (including all of the Nicobar islands) are off-limits to non-residents.
The Sentinelese, an uncontacted, hostile tribe that lives on North Sentinel Island, are fiercely protected by the Indian government. While several anthropologists have been allowed to research the tribe from a distance, woe the fate of the various young men who have tried to make contact with this tribe in the name of religion or sophmoric stupidity. They did not live to tell the tale.
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands have been mentioned in the accounts of Ptolemy (2nd century A.D.), Faxian (6th century A.D.) and Yijing (7th century A.D.). In the 11th century, the Tamils used the islands to launch naval expeditions into South East Asia. The first Europeans to arrive were the Danish, landing on the Nicobar islands in 1755, followed by the Austrians in 1778. In 1789, the British East India Company established a naval base and opened a penal colony in the Andaman islands, abandoning the settlement in 1796. In 1858, the British Government established a colony near Port Blair on South Andaman, and in 1868, it purchased the Nicobar islands from the Danish. Still smarting from the Indian Mutiny of 1858, it also reopened the penal colony, and the islands soon acquired the name Kala Pani, or Black Waters.
Towards the end of the 19th century, as the Indian independence movement gained momentum, it was deemed that a new prison geared towards inflicting harsher punishment on political prisoners was required. The Cellular Jail opened in 1906, and contained 693 cells where prisoners were held in solitary confinement. As you would expect, conditions at the prison were terrible. Prisoners were tortured, starved and forced to do back-breaking manual labor. Many of the leading figures in India's independence movement spent time here, isolated from the mainland and each other in a futile attempt to quash their spirits. The Cellular Jail was closed by the British government in 1938, and all of the surviving prisoners were repatriated to the mainland.
During WWII, the islands were invaded by the Japanese. Port Blair was captured in March 1942, and in 1943, provisional control was passed to Subhash (Netaji) Chandra Bose, an Indian freedom fighter and leader of the Indian National Army and the Azad Hind. After the Japanese surrender, the islands once again came under the control of the British, and after independence in 1947, the British tried to keep the islands as a home for resettled Anglo-Indians and Anglo-Burmese. In 1948, the islands finally became a territory of India, and were used to resettle people displaced during partition, particularly farmers.
Besides South Andaman, where Port Blair is located, the islands most visited by tourists include Swaraj Dweep (Havelock Island) and Shaheed Dweep (Neil Island). Both feature stunning beaches, although visitors are only given access to certain ones during certain hours, which makes them very crowded, especially at sunset. To reach more remote beaches, if allowed by the authorities, one needs to hike through the jungle or arrive by small boat. The islands are known for their biodiversity, so trekking is often rewarded with the sighting of many rare species.
Certain beaches on Swaraj Dweep and Shaheed Dweep are reserved for water sports such as scuba diving, banana and glass bottom boat rides, snorkeling, and jet skiing. Now for the unfortunate part..."mature" travelers, which to the Indian government means anyone older than 50 (yes, you read that right), require medical clearance in order to snorkel or scuba anywhere in the islands, or anywhere in India for that matter. If you are older than 60, you cannot do either activity, regardless of your health condition. This stems from the lack of reliable medical facilities should something go wrong, and from the belief that most tourists are not strong swimmers and that older tourists are in lousy health.
Not to be discouraged, I promptly went to the local medical clinic for a health screening and I secured permission to snorkel! Led by a naturalist from Tilar Siro, a CGH Earth property on Swaraj Dweep, I trekked 45 minutes to Elephanta Beach through dense forest, eventually reaching the mangroves and a completely empty beach. On my trek, I spotted a Draco dussumieri, or Indian flying lizard, as well as many colorful birds. It was absolutely worth it. The coral reef was gorgeous, serene, quiet - exactly what I had imagined before coming to the islands.
On Shaheed Dweep, where snorkeling is not allowed AT ALL for some reason, I visited the Rock Bridge as part of a marine walk. I also took a glass bottom boat ride, which was very unsatisfying given the top-notch snorkeling I did on Swaraj Dweep.
All-in-all, it was an interesting and enjoyable trip. There are many hotel options on Swaraj Dweep and Shaheed Dweep, and my stay was very comfortable. The seafood is superb and the islands are indeed breathtaking. My only hesitation recommending it to clients is the fact that the beaches and the water sports are so restricted, it can make for a very frustrating experience at times.
NOTE TO THE INDIAN GOVERNMENT - 60 IS THE NEW 30!
Manai, Rajasthan, February 2025 - I have never used the term 'farm-to-table' to describe a specialty dining experience in India, as it seemed redundant. Most ingredients, even in large hotel restaurants, typically come directly from a farm or farmer's market. Except for the odd use of flourescent food coloring in ice creams and pastries, artificial ingredients and processed foods are rarely found. As a result, food in India tastes incredibly fresh and vibrant. Eggs have deep orange yolks and taste like eggs. Bananas taste like bananas. Animal proteins were walking around that morning. So how to describe the new food adventures popping up around the country?
Celebrity chefs and fusion cuisine have long occupied the major cities, with creative (and pricey) tasting menus readily available. So too, home cooked meals in the kitchens of your typical farmstay, as well as cooking demonstrations in the homes of middle-class enthusiasts and royals-once-removed. Missing from the mix, in my mind, were destinations where my clients could relax for a day or two in luxurious lodging, while also enjoying an elevated culinary experience with a compelling story.
Mharo Khet, one hour from Jodhpur, exemplifies this winning package. Situated on a 40-acre oasis in the Thar desert, this farm grows over 100 different crops, including exotic fruits, vegetables, herbs, and even mushrooms. It features a stunning greenhouse where vegetables not typically used in Indian cooking...such as kohlrabi, swiss chard and kale...are grown alongside gorgeous tomatoes, edible flowers and fresh peas. It relies heavily on drip irrigation and chemical-free farming, both of which promote sustainable agriculture in this parched part of Rajasthan. Mharo Khet's ten cottages, each over 2,000 square feet in size, were designed in harmony with the surrounding area.
There are several dining options at Mharo Khet, but the standout is a plant-based tasting menu served under the stars in the guava orchard. Executive chef Ishan Ahluwalia, who spent time at Indian Accent in New York, turns out dishes that are as beautiful as they are delectable. And while there are a number of activities on offer for overnight guests, I think the best use of one's time is to eat, drink (they offer mixology workshops using foraged ingredients) and be sleepy.
Back in Jodhpur, Siré Bagh showcases the Rajasthani family recipes of Tarini Singh, a trained chef who spent many years cooking and baking in Australia. This small farm does not offer ovenight stays, but guests can enjoy a relaxing dinner under the stars, just minutes from the bustling bazaars of Jodhpur. I tried a number of dishes that were all superb, including samosas made with fresh peas shoots. Her cookies were also divine.
Halfway between Jodhpur and Udaipur sits Chanoud Garh, a boutique hotel located in a 300-year-old royal fort-palace complex. With only ten suites, the property is a hidden gem, decorated in vibrant colors and featuring traditional textiles and crafts. While here, I enjoyed a guided village walk, a jeep safari through the surrounding scrub forest, and sunset tea on the local salt flats, replete with an audience of pink flamingos. What set my stay apart, however, was the cuisine...family recipes cooked the way they would have been a hundred years ago...which means very little chili, onion or garlic.
One normally associates Indian cooking with generous amounts of spice, of which chili is the most infamous component. Same with members of the allium family. However, both of these ingredients often mask the subtelty of other spices, such as fenugreek, cumin, coriander, poppyseed and nigella. Indeed, a week or so into any trip, I find myself ordering continental food, as my stomach has had its fill of chili and onion. Home cooked food, however, especially in a home where the matriarch is widowed, often leaves out these ingredients. Chanoud Garh is one of these homes, and not because it thinks foreigners can't eat spicy foods, but because they really want diners TO TASTE the local vegetables, beans and meats.
After two weeks in West Bengal and the Andamans, the latter of which had particularly spicy food for some reason, the cuisine at Chanoud Garh was a joy. I found myself yearning for the next meal, especially since the charming staff would find hidden dining spots spread throughout the palace. With only ten suites in a large palace, the occupants of every room could have their own, private dining experience. Chanoud Garh is another great find that integrates well into a longer trip in Rajasthan.
Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh, February 2025 - Fragrance has long been an essential element of Indian culture. Besides the widespread use of perfumes and attars, fragrance is embraced through the burning of incense, the scenting of food with aromatic spices and plant essences, the chewing of paan, and the use of fresh flowers in religious rituals.
Perfume means 'to smoke through', indicating that early fragrances were created by burning aromatic plant resins, leaves and tree wood. The earliest fragrance-related equipment in India was found in sites from the Indus Valley civilization, which existed from 3,300 B.C. to 1,300 B.C. In the 6th century A.D., King Harshvardhan, ruler of the kingdom of Kannauj in North India, popularized the wearing of fragrance. The use of fragrance continued to grow in popularity under the Mughal emperors, who cultivated flowers such as rose and jasmine and honed the art of steam distillation.
Attar is an oil-based fragrance created through the distillation of aromatic plant oils, which are then aged. Typically, the base is a wood oil such as sandalwood or agarwood (oudh). Warm attars with musk and amber are used in winter, while cool attars with ruh khus (vetiver) and gajra (jasmine) are used in summer. By contrast, perfume is alcohol based, and often contains both natural and synthetic notes.
Kannauj specializes in what is known as mitti attar, or the smell of wet earth after the rain. This compelling scent is the by-product of the traditional deg bhapka oil extraction process. Plant materials are gathered in a degh, or cauldron, under which a fire is lit. Clay is used to create a seal around the lid of the cauldron, in to which a long pipe is inserted. The steam lifts the essential oils from the plants, and carries it through the pipe into a condensing jug to cool down. The jug has a paraffin base, which catches the fragrance of the clay, imparting an earthy scent to the extracted oil.
Kannauj is still home to a number of companies that create attars in the traditional manner. During my visit, I was hosted by Indian Naturals, an 8th generation supplier of essential oils to many of the large fragrance houses in Europe. Indian Naturals is pioneering perfume tourism in Kannauj, and has introduced a fascinating program during which visitors can tour the factory, enjoy a fragrance-themed lunch in their ancestral home, and create their own fragrance to take home. Over a delicious lunch, joined by a member of the Uttar Pradesh Tourism Board, I learned about the family's plan to develop a fragrance-themed hotel close to the factory. Right now, Kannauj is best visited as a day trip from Lucknow, but it falls directly between Lucknow and Agra, so an upscale hotel would really elevate the experience when touring this region of India.
A note about synthetic fragrances: certain scents can't be collected sustainably or reliably from nature, such as animal musks and aldehydes, and plants that are used in fragrances can be significantly overharvested, such as sandalwood. Furthermore, natural fragrances don't typically last as long as their counterparts that incorporate synthetic ingredients. Synthetic compounds have been used in fragrance since 1868, when coumarin, naturally found in the Tonka bean, was created in a lab and subsequently used in Houbigant's Fougére Royale. In 1921, Chanel No. 5 was the first major perfume to use synthetic aldehydes, which imparted crisp, clean, somewhat metallic notes to the scent. While strict safety standards clearly need to be followed with synthetic ingredients (even pure essential oils can cause allergic reactions), the fragrance industry and its customers are gradually reconsidering the '100% Natural' label.
