Shakti and Ila Lumba, who quit the city to live in district Faridabad’s village Mangar, known for its sacred grove, opened their farm to guests in 2008. Since then, they have worked with locals to improve their living conditions and showcased village life to guests.
Driving down the dusty roads of village Mangar, located in the middle of the undulating Aravalis just outside Delhi, has a rustic appeal in December when the sun is mellow and the air crisp. But come to think of inhabiting this place in summer, and many city-dwellers would have second thoughts.
Not Shakti and Ila Lumba. The couple, who had high-flying corporate careers in the aviation and hospitality sectors respectively, gave up the modern comforts of life in Gurgaon to live outside the village on a five-acre farm with their cows, geese, dogs and cats.
“We didn’t want to live in a match-box,” says Ila, referring to the kind of housing they had seen in the city just before they purchased the farm at Mangar, in 1997. “I seldom leave the farm. We have nature as a buffer here, so we don’t need to contend with the pollution you folks do in the city,” adds Shakti.
The irony of moving to the countryside, according to Shakti, is that one moves to escape urbanisation. But, lo and behold, the countryside is now getting urbanised!
“We had a beautiful lake outside our property, but that’s dried up because of the expanding boundaries of the village,” laments Ila. She also feels bad about the tendency of Indian villagers to litter non-biodegradable garbage but has an explanation for it.
“Indian villagers don’t understand what’s biodegradable and what isn’t. In the past, they could throw out all garbage, and it would dissolve in the earth,” she says, admitting that she still has a hard time seeing styrofoam plates flying around the countryside.
And with climate change, farming, which is one of the couple’s cherished activities, hasn’t gotten easier either. “We now have to plant more seeds than before. The weather too has gotten more severe,” she says.
But whatever the challenges, the couple says they love their life in the village. This is because they choose to be the solution, and not dwell on just problems.
To help the local community, the couple set up the Laksh Foundation (Women’s Cooperative) in 2007 and the Laksh Foundation Education Society in 2010. The latter offers educational support in rural Haryana.
As a part of the Education Society initiative, the foundation organises tutorials for about 2,000 village kids, who are registered with it. “Initially we thought of setting up a school, but soon realised that rural children cannot afford to pay for such a facility,” says Shakti.
So the couple decided to complement the existing educational infrastructure by organising extra tuition for the children.
In 2010, they began getting teach-the-teacher volunteers from Warwick University. More recently children from the Shiv Nadar School in Gurgaon began travelling to the farm to engage with the rural children.
The couple runs a sewing centre on the premises of the farm, where rural women find employment repurposing old clothes into blankets, garments and souvenirs. Ila’s friend Jane, who is a merchandiser, gives the women tips on how to fashion the garments and make trinkets.
Brides of the village delight in the recycled clothes, many of them upscale brands, that Ila collects for them from guests and acquaintances.
“In the village, you become a part of a close-knit community. And nothing goes to waste,” she says.
Around 2008, the couple opened the doors of their farm to tourists to showcase village life as they had experienced it. Though Laksh Farms, as it’s known, is officially in district Faridabad, it attracts visitors from Gurgaon and the rest of NCR.
The farm houses four tastefully done guest rooms, a large kitchen and dining area, a pool, the couple’s earthen home, vegetable and other crop farms, and overlooks the Aravali hills that fringe the property.
“This is the only property we own in the universe!” exclaims Ila. From Gurgaon, it should take you 45 minutes to get to, and Faridabad is nearer.
The food for guests is prepared in-house by locals who the couple has trained to their exacting gastronomic standards. Hearty Indian fare served with dollops of white butter prepared from locally sourced milk, veggies grown naturally and even global fare cooked by the couple’s son, Shiv, are perhaps the highlights of a stay here.
“Just the salt and meat are sourced from outside the farm. Most of what we serve, we grow,” reveals Ila, who is a passionate natural farmer along with Shakti.
Though you can learn a lot about natural farming if you spend time here, and about the local community too, the farm isn’t a place for strenuous activity. “People often ask me what they can do here, and I say, we can teach them to do absolutely nothing!” jokes Shakti.
That said, guided nature walks through the sacred grove, Mangar Bani, are a must if you’re staying overnight. Ila and Shakti can guide you on that. They have also, in the past, hosted art and meditation residencies, besides musical performances by singers like Shubha Mudgal.
Ila and her daughter Pallavi, who is a scriptwriter from Mumbai but currently lives on the farm, are working on building a website, which should be up soon. Till then, you can find out more about the farm and stay or visit options by calling Shiv (+91-9899518754) or emailing lakshfarms@gmail.com.
The lead image on top depicts Shakti and Ila Lumba, who opened up their farm in Mangar to guests to showcase village life as they experienced it. (Photo by Smriti Mukerji)
Smriti Mukerji is a freelance journalist based in New Delhi.
