ISAI – The journey inwards

What if I told you that there is a place with which you will fall in love, at first sight, and all you can hear when you reach this place is the music of nature. When you are here all you can feel is immense peace no matter where you have come from and how much stress you deal with regularly. It is somewhere you stop being busy, somewhere you take a lungful of fresh air, and smell the fragrance of nature, somewhere you connect with some new friends, reconnect with your old ones, or even yourself!

This place is Isai. In the heart of Periyar forest, on the foot of Palani hills, by a little dancing stream, somewhere behind Kodaikanal, in Tamil Nadu (India)

The visuals & sights are still fresh in my memories, it was 3 years back, at Isai where we captured our 10 years of friendship into one single frame which I could have never imagined happening again in my lifetime. And I will be forever thankful to Isai for that.

I have known these friends since college and we were so tight-knit, together always through thick and thin, but as soon as college ended, life took over. We all went to different cities to pursue our interests. We tried to take out time and met whenever we could or when we were in the same city. We hardly got any chance to celebrate New Year together, it was mostly going to a party club and there was always someone who could not make it, or we celebrated in our own ways. The last time we celebrated it with everyone in the same place was 7 long years back in college.

The beginning of New Year 2018 was quite special for us and it did take Rajan some efforts to convince all of us to visit ISAI with his always emotional and filmy dialogues.

ISAI:

It is a campsite near Kodaikanal. You can reach here by around 2 hrs drive from Madurai or 9 hrs drive from Bengaluru. Once you reach KC Patty - Semadiyutthu (Last habited village in that region), you will lose the mobile network and motorable road. You start walking through the forest & cross a river stream, and if you are lucky enough you might spot some deers, wild boars, peacocks, and a lot of birds. They will not harm you, but one must be careful.

The small path adjacent to the flowing river is serene, you will notice dappled light falling where you place your steps, sunlight kisses you through the leaves, and the birds sing songs all along. You will leave your past behind and move into the present.

We were very excited to meet everyone together after such a long time. We reached Isai in groups, only 30 people in the whole resort, into the forest, next to a river, and an ample amount of weed. It was heaven! There was no network and no electricity ( for basics, Isai has solar power). Soon there was no distraction of the rushing world. The small things of having conversations with friends in person and being 100% into it with no distractions was a joy we hadn’t experienced in a long time. We enjoyed every second of it.

Beautiful Sunrise & Early tuck-ins, Lazy afternoons & star-filled evenings, Campfires, hiking in the greens

All in the place where Nature sings.

The food they gave was homely & local, it is made with love, and you could feel it with every bite. Living in Isai for a few days, made us forget about the money, it made us question the whole capitalist system we are part of.

You go to college, get a degree, get a job, work hard, comparing oneself to others, wanting things that are not necessary, aiming for it and working hard day and night every single day for it. Succumbing to the pressure of society. The society that we humans have built. A selfish society. With a never-ending cycle of wants and desires and a rat race to fulfill them. It made me think to slow down a bit and think what is that you actually need, what is that you only want? I mean if you are always rushing to the next moment, what happens to the one you are in?

This Heaven is kept away from all commercialization. It’s only by an Invite, you can visit this place, Anyone who visits gets 5 invites which he can share with friends. You can also write to them if you want to visit, they are always happy to make new friends.

The open bathroom

It is run by a few Artists. Raj Rajan, a filmmaker, was exploring Tamilnadu for his next film with his cousin Solomon. He took Rajan to this place, which he recently bought. They stayed there for few days, Rajan fell in love with the place, he wanted his friends to feel what he felt there, so by next winter, he and Solomon organized the first event in the resort, hosting a new year, That's how I got a chance to visit this place.

Its the 3rd year now, Isai has hosted 230 friends. And they all go back a little bit changed.

I did too when I was back, I one day want to have a life like that, with and around Nature. It is going to take some time to change the way we have come to live. While the wait is on, I accept the present and in my busy schedule, I take out time to see Sunsets. This small ritual has become a regular reminder of Isai and what it taught us. I know most of my friends are also watching the Sunset. Far from each other, we feel connected. I want to keep going back to this place again.

The Accommodation:

It's a camping site, All the tents are well placed, to have unique views of the forest. Tents are provided with sleeping bags and hard mattresses.

Sanitation Facilities: 3 Toilets, A 10*10 bathroom with open sky. Swimming and bathing in the stream is also a lovely option.

An Amphitheatre is also available for small performances.

The drinking and cleaning water were all used from the river stream to give you a feel of nature and utilize your survival instincts.

ISAI definitely gives you the musical vibe where one can get lost with the sounds of birds chirping, woodpecker pecking, the river stream, cricket sounds, frogs croak and if you are a musician you can even make a song out of it!

Words are not enough to describe ISAI; I feel one should pay a visit to experience it and you will never regret being lost in its tranquil beauty.

Inked by Allen Mutum

Story by Rajan & Bhavna.