SA-WE

23 April ‘21

Okay, so the title might have intrigued you by now and you would’ve already started thinking “what this Guy is upto now” he he… rightly said na… and yes you’re absolutely right, me being me, this is the new fitoor and trust me its not just a fitoor but a reality in making, don’t know exactly when but yes sometime in the coming years. Haan, toh build up ho gaya, ab seedhe aata hoon mudde pe ki what am I trying to share here… so let me take you on a journey and make you experience something interesting.

Before starting, I need to make you understand the logic of the title, why “SA-WE”. So basically its pronounced as “सैवी”. Now the logic behind this, Maa ka naam is Savita, so this is the short n cool name “Savi” (yes, this is the normal spelling) but main toh main hoon… normal is too boring for me. So, “SA” has 3 logics. 1- In Rajasthani language, “सा” means “ji”, its used to express “respect”. 2. In Sanskrit, “सा” means “समानता होने पर भी कुछ कमी का भाव” “पूरा ना होने पर भी बहुत कुछ”. 3. In layman’s term, S & A, Maa and mere naam ke initials hain. and “We” is to represent हम सब, yes all of us and this includes you as well. So all in all, that’s how this name came in. Hansi toh bahut aa rahi hogi padhte hue, par kya karun hoon main thoda paagal, hamesha kehta hoon na.

Visualise this now, you’re on a road trip/vacation/travelling/xyz with friends or family or someone or solo. Location is somewhere in Himachal/Uttarakhand/North East (if you love Mountains) and Rajasthan (if you love Desert), sorry beach lovers aapke liye option abhi mila nahi hai, abhi in dono mein se choose kar lo pls.

You’re at a secluded place, with no market or joints in the vicinity. Only thing you can see is natural beauty all around you, and clear skies above you. In short, door door tak, na aadmi na aadmi ki zaat, sirf aap aur aapki khamoshi aur agar log hain saath toh unki baatein (aka chapad chapad) no offences to people who speak nonstop🤣🤣. You’re in this moment and you stay put for a good amount of time, say 1-2 hrs or even more. Photos click kar liye, dp’s/statuses/stories/etc sabka quota poora ho gaya. Ab what next, take a pause from reading and tell me what comes next to your mind ki ab kya karne ka mann ho raha hai.

Aap logon ka mann jo bhi kare, par mera mann toh sirf yehi karta hai ki ye pal yahin tham jaaye aur main yahin basss jaaun. Aur aisa ek baar nahi, kayi kayi baar ho chuka hai aur hota rehta hai hamesha. So at these moments, I always have this strong urge to somehow make this happen, kuch jugaad kar ke aisa setup ho ki apna ek comfort zone waala setup bana loon yahan, with my basic necessities sorted (and trust me my basics are actually very very basic). Kaafi baar toh yeh khayal bhi aata hai ki, apni Baleno mein hi saara jugaad set ho sakta hai mera toh, basss peeche ki seats flat karni hai, aur sab set ho jaaega usme… waise bhi zyaada logon ko leke travel karta nahi main toh kaam hai nahi backseat ka… haan aage waali ek passenger seat khaali hai agar tum kabhi chalna chaaho toh, kisi road trip pe… of course, at your own risk… haan, sorry thoda bhatak gaya, so getting back to where I was… haan, aise khayal toh hamesha aate hain… but but BUT… then life ki reality check aati hai… ye kaam, paisa, ghar, Maa Baap, so called responsibilities, etc etc etc… although main zyaada kuch karta nahi inme se, but fir bhi hai toh hai hi na yaar… ab kya karein, par kuch toh karna hai… aur basss, ye chaahat mein n life ke reality check mein hi train of thoughts ghoomti rehti hain… and its an endless loop

Now back to the secluded place… ab imagine this, you find some sign boards leading to a place within like 200 mts from where you’re standing and us direction mein kuch toh lights and chhota sa structure and zyaada nahi par 5-7 log dikh rahe hain… and as you get closer n closer, you start getting a better view of the place… I don’t have a pic, but agar example dena ho, toh I’ll say 2 options hain… 1. woh movie yaad hai, Kapoor & Sons… us movie ka farmhouse, waisa sa… ya fir 2. woh series dekhi hai, TVF’s Tripling, Season-1 mein unke Parents ka Ghar, Amma’s Kitchen… yesss, something very similar to these two is what you find there

aur aap andar aa gaye, aapko kuch log dikhe, sab apna apna random kuch kuch karte hue dikhe… khelte, book padhte, baatein karte, chhup chaap baithe, khaana khaate, yoga/exercise/meditate karte, etc etc etc… matlab kuch bhi random chal raha hai yahan… aapne apni nazrein ghumaayi, chaaron taraf dekha, kuch toh ajeeb laga… koi waiter/caretaker/owner/manager/etc type ka insaan nahi dikha aapko… koi reception nahi, billing counter nahi… kuch nahi… bada ajeeb siyappa hai yaar ye… he he he… maza aaya, kaisa laga experience… ab aapke paas aati hain Savi Aunty ya unka सपूत, haan सपूत toh main hoon hi… usme koi doubt thodi na hai… aur aate hi aapse baatein karne lagte hain… kya haal chal, kaise ho and all… and you’re like ki abe yeh jagah hai kya, ho kya raha hai yahan… but ab tak aap thode comfortable se ho gaye ho and you already started talking, bada maza aaya baat kar ke… and then you put forward your query ki ye hai kya, jagah kya hai, system kya hai yahan ka and all… and 99% aapke har probable sawaal ka jawaab is Maa-Bete ne pehle se soch rakha hoga… par haan, agar woh 1% waala aapka sawaal hoga na, toh kassam se fir toh bada hi maza aaega aapke saath… khoob jamegi aapki hamare saath…

So now the details about this place… and this happens either like Chai Pe Charcha or Conversation with Coffee (haan, Coffee deserves an angrezi word yaar, charcha doesn’t suit na) or with other beverage of your choice from the options offered to you… so you start taking a tour of the place… and now the mystery unfolds…

This is a place, which you can consider yours and be as comfortable as you ever can be. Upto you, you call it a Cafe/Homestay/Farm/Hotel/Resort whatsoever you feel like. We call it “SA-WE”. Now, giving point-wise highlights of the place, my favourite way of explaining anything.

Before proceeding further, giving out the important disclaimer here itself. We welcome anyone and everyone here, all are free to come in. But, you stay here or not is completely, solely dependent on our (Maa-Beta) discretion. and a No will clearly mean no, we might not even feel the need to give you a reason good enough for you to understand. This might’ve sounded too harsh, but yaar simple sa logic hai, agar tum pasand nahi aaye (pasand ki paribhaasha bahut alag hai hamari aur basss hai, kuch nahi kar sakte uska) toh nahi aaye… uske aage peeche kuch nahi, sorry but hum aur aap ek doosre ke liye misfit hain and aapka ya hamara bad experience ho, so better hai ki aap cut lijiye yahan se… Gut feel, inner instinct naam ki cheez hoti hai aur hum isme bahut zyaada strongly believe karte hain… don’t get us wrong here, we’re not judging you as a person, all we mean to say here is ki aap aur hum alag frequency ke hain, toh this is better for all of us that we stay apart.

1. No fixed checkin checkout time.
   • 7am-Midnight- Direct drop in
   • Midnight-7am- Inform prior and drop in
2. No refusal for Food/Accommodation
3. Pay for as long as you stay. Decide your duration yourself, hours/days/weeks/months/seasons/years.
4. Barter system available, Volunteer as per your choice. Cook/Clean/Wash and don’t pay cash
5. No Food/Water/Electricity wastage allowed. Resources belong to all
6. Vegetarian Food only, Eggs only on special requests
7. Food available 24X7, but no fixed menu to order from. You choose from what we offer.
8. You can cook yourself if you wish to
9. You’re most welcome to give in your specific demands of Food. But, it’ll be served only if you informed in advance, and it’s possible for us to cook in that timeframe. Else sorry.
10. There’s hack to above, if as a person, Savi Aunty loves you or Akash likes you then anything and everything under the sun can be managed for you.

All in all, these are macro level pointers to define and describe the whole place and the experience that you can expect once here. So, this is what I wanted to share with you and this not just in thoughts but one fine day you definitely gonna see this in reality and tab yaad karna ki haan yaar Akash ne ekdum raw thought share toh kiya tha… Now, my part is done for now, ab hai aapki baari… so Mohtarma/Mahashay, kripya kar ke iske baare mein thoda sochein aur apne vichaar vyakt karein… this is the pure raw version, kaafi saara fine tuning, detailing sab hona hai isme… I have no fear of judgement with you, so shared as it is with you… isliye pls bata dena, achcha/bura/waahiyaat/etc jo bhi first thought aaye ye padh ke…

Now some imp pointers about the place overall

1. SA-WE will try sustain all by itself .
   • Solar Panels, to generate at least 50% of Electricity.
   • Water harvesting, treatment
   • Biogas from sewage
   • Fertilisers from Food waste
2. Organic Farm and Dairy Farm
   • Try and grow 20-30% of veggies ourselves
   • Create an Ecosystem for Dairy Farm
   • Meet our Milk needs by ourselves
3. Local support
   • All purchases will be locally done
   • We’ll Train/Educate/Skill nearby people in whatever minuscule manner we can
   • Any help in or beyond our capacity is always available for everyone