Caretakers

We've all probably read a property review. This one, though, is a caretakers review/recognition.

We (a family of 9+2) checked into a villa at Panchagani last Friday for a 2N stay. We had some senior citizens who preferred home cooked meals. I've hadn't had great experiences with such meals at villas.

Most villas usually have caretakers for their upkeep & some even cook for the guests. This weekend, we met a family (Kiran & his family) of caretakers who blew us away with their hospitality, surpassing the definition of the term "caretakers" by far.

Friday when we checked in, they all greeted us with smiles. The refreshing adrak masala chai came in no time. I was still skeptical about the food though. We gave them a list of items to prepare for all the meals. When I offered Kiran an advance to get the vegetables/groceries for the meals, he said "we'll settle when you check out, sir" - never heard this from caretakers in the past. Most seek an advance. One of us mentioned about a bonfire & Kiran told us he would set one up Saturday evening.

Friday late evening we came back from exploration, super hungry. They could have prepared the food & left. Yet each member was served hot rotis laden with ghee straight from the tava to our plates at the dining table. The food tasted nothing like any home cooked food we ever had outside. It was superb. To top it off, they fed us as if we were their kids, pushing us to eat more.

Saturday morning, they had to cook 2 items for breakfast, but when one of us made a request for a third, it was accepted with grace. Again, their zeal towards their work showed through the taste of the food they prepared, especially, the lip-smacking parathas.

Saturday dinner was much like the prior evening, but with a local Maharashtrian twist - an out of the world brinjal sabji with their special aamti recipe. Once again, we found ourselves eating more than we could, as they kept serving us gleefully with wide smiles.

Dinner was followed by a nice bonfire, helping us make more magical memories on a super chilly & windy evening under the zillion twinkling stars shining down upon us.

We checked out Sunday after another sumptuous breakfast & bid them good-bye. From the moment we saw them till the time we left, we could not register a single moment where they weren't smiling. There were a lot of other little things they did for our comfort, but for the first time, I am short of words to express.

No matter how much material wealth one accumulates, nothing can replace the feeling one gets by a) visiting a great place, b) getting to eat lip smacking (& super healthy) food cooked (& served) passionately & c) experiencing the feeling of being cared for. We experienced all of this over the weekend, thanks to Kiran & his family.

It probably takes such passionate people to make a good property great, much like it takes passionate employees to make any other good organization great.

Take care, caretakers. There was a lot to learn from you.