Several things happened at once, the minute I set foot on the pretty parcel of land that goes by the name ‘Fernandeswadi’. For one, my heartbeat slowed down; I started to breathe easy — the air did not reek of Mumbai dust, and as I attempted to get my bearings, Coco, the beautiful Indie, led the way to the homestay, making a better GPS than any I could hope for. 

My conscious mind — aware of being just an hour from Mumbai city — had a tough time talking down my senses, which believed we’d just touched down in Goa. The latter won. Blame it on the quintessential sea smell, the hushed village silence that’s so typical of Goa, and the 140-odd coconut trees dominating the skyline. 

After settling down, next, in what I saw as a way of exchanging pleasantries with the land, I sipped on a drink of coconut water (the sweetest I’ve ever tasted). 

Rohan Fernandes, the third generation, now managing the homestay along with his wife Jharna Thakkar, calls the trees his grandfather’s prized possession. He shares, “My grandfather James Heredia spotted this place way back in 1947. It was a barren land back then, but he liked that it was near the beach and had a beautiful view of South Bombay. But he decided to buy the property only if and when India got independence, so that his taxes wouldn’t go to the British government. To his luck, in August that year, India got its freedom.” 

It’s amazing how the homestay’s journey is interspersed with vignettes from the Fernandes family archives. I find myself flitting between eras as Rohan continues his tale. 

The first thing you’ll remark about Fernandeswadi is how far off the tourist trail it is. 

That’s intentional, Jharna points out. Existing in silos helps the place retain its calm.

As you walk through the land, you’ll see that it’s guided by the rhythms of nature. But what’s now shades of green told a very different story in the 1940s. Gesturing to the 10 acres that surround us, Rohan says, “The land was a mix of varkhas zamin (uncultivable land) and shet zamin (farming land). The locals cautioned my grandfather against trying to plant anything on the land,........

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