Maybe 30 years ago we took our really young sons and went to a resort quaintly called Jungle Hut in the foothills of the Nilgiris hills called Masinagudi. It then was just two little huts and we ate our meals with the owners—an army officer—in their personal dining room. We never forgot the experience even though over the years as a journalist I covered dozens of posh resorts around Bangalore. All super luxurious, with numerous private swimming pools and all definitely following the use- and- throw mantra, so prevalent today.

It was a spur of the moment decision to visit Jungle Hut again, a decision we will never regret making. Only this time it was difficult getting a booking and it seems to have become an all-time favourite with Bangaloreans. The decision was also supported positively by the fact that there is today the Bangalore, Mysore Expressway, so our trip had been reduced to a 5-hour drive on National Highway 247. The only downside – drivers tend to speed, not watching out for the miniscule warning speed signs and in minutes you are flagged down by a traffic cop and fined heavily.

What caught my eye being a Science and Environment journalist this visit, were the little signs all over the property and in the ‘hut’ that we lived in. We had reached in time for some leftover breakfast – and the first notice we saw was when I went to wash my hands at the basins set up on the side of the dining room. Just above the tap was a gentle notice that said – “Save water, turn off between rinses.” Definitely a big saving as we tend to leave the tap running while soaping our hands. I am sure at least a litre would be saved by turning off the tap. All around the room in our “hut” there were art works using framed twigs rather than the usual oil paintings or framed pictures. Even the pegs to hang our clothes were made of the V’s of thickish branches of trees. So creative and so sustainable, rather than the usual glitzy touches, and oil paintings which rooms in resorts are festooned with.

Interestingly, as you pushed your key card to enter the room, there was a notice requesting you to turn off the lights and turn off the water to save energy and water. You could not help but read it as it was right where one inserted your key card. Considering we were on the fringes of the jungle, the requests were in sync with sustainable living rules that we need to follow. Rather than intrude into the jungle we were being advised on being careful and blend in with nature.

The toilet of course held the most little plastic covered notices. For some reason people dispose of diapers and sanitary waste by flushing it down through the toilet. That’s a disaster waiting to happen, because the toilet gets clogged as most sanitary items take time to decompose. Then pipes need to be broken and the mess manually cleared out.  “Please do not flush nappies and sanitary napkins, use the bin provided. Help us to keep the environment clean” said a note on the toilet seat. Gentle but firm and hopefully guests adhered to them. 

The hot water for our baths was piping hot and solar heated. A large solar panel dominated the roof, facing the sun. For that too a prominent note on the shower cubicle said – “To get hot water let the tap run for a minute as it is solar heated.” Those used to instant geysers need to realize how solar water heaters work and considering India has so much free solar power we need to really switch big time to solar power lighting and heating. Solar power is such a wonderful free resource which we need to tap into in our homes and across the country. Every “hut” had solar panels on the roof pointing straight to the sun and saving on energy bills.

The lights dotting the property along the paths were also solar lit and had enough charge to remain bright till the early hours of the morning. This prodded us to buy a large solar street light and solar CCTV for our farm which helps keep off thieves of our mango and chickoo crop.   

All around the garden there were bamboo fences which kept the plants safe from marauding animals, which attacked them at night. No steel fences or barbed wire are allowed by the Forest department, so naturally the plants did not stand much of a chance against mainly raiding deer. In fact, there was a carpenter putting together dead bamboo branches neatly stacked together and bound tightly together with thicker bamboo stems, which were used as guards around various beds of flowers and fruit trees. 

Thankfully there were jugs and washable glasses in the dining room, rather than the now fashionable plastic bottles and throw away plastic glasses. It boggles the mind to see the quantum of plastic bottles that land up in our now staggering landfills. 

It was a good feeling to holiday in a space which is conscious of the environment. Sitting in the dining room sipping coffee under the coconut leaf lined roof one realizes that it’s all in our hands to be sustainable. Tamil Nadu is extremely strict about finding any sort of plastic in your car as you enter. You are fined INR 1000 on the spot. That is the only way we humans will step back, but we also need to internalize the importance of being sustainable and looking towards more environment friendly alternatives in our lives. #

Dr Marianne Furtado de Nazareth is a former Assistant Editor at The Deccan Herald and a freelance science and environment journalist.