Next to Bannerghatta Forest, These Friends Built Earthy, Eco-Friendly Homes From Mud & Stone
The interviews and reporting for this story were conducted in October 2023.
As the first rays of dawn creep up on the city of Bengaluru, a distant roar fills the muted air. It is soon accompanied by other similar and louder ones. The din that follows can mean only one thing: the lions of the Bannerghatta National Park have awoken.
The beasts are among the 2,300 animals that are currently being housed at the sanctuary, which since its inception in 1970, has prided itself on the ex-situ conservation of biodiversity. It is a paradise to reckon with, one that the tourist guidebooks fall short of doing justice to. You need to witness it to believe it.
The many safaris organised here give guests an opportunity to be privy to the wilderness’ ways, while the 7.5-acre Butterfly Park has its own collection to boast of. Needless to say, the Bannerghatta National Park is a world where nature is allowed to unfold at its own pace.
Four years ago, on one such visit to the national park, three friends, Vijayaprabhu Damodaran (55), Revathi Paulraj (49) and Haripriya Santhanam (40), did not have the heart to leave this world behind and return to city life. An idea started brewing in their heads.
The three residents of a gated community in Arekere in South Bengaluru were united by a fondness for nature. One look at the unoccupied land on the outskirts of the Bannerghatta National Park and they knew it held promise.
The ‘Warli’ painting done on the walls of the farmstay lends it a vernacular style, Picture source: AnirudhAnirudh Jagannathan of Mahijaa Consultants, who has been the architect on this project since then, says he was surprised at the unique request. “They came to me with this proposal in 2021 and had purchased three pieces of land which they were looking to combine into a farmhouse.”
They © The Better India
