Travel: The hills are alive

From baithaks and board games nights to pop-ups and flea markets for local businesses, Lonavala, the O.G. hill station of Mumbai and Pune, has started owning its space

When potters Rohit Kulkarni and Bhairavi Naik of Curators of Clay came up with signature glazes inspired by the monsoon, they saw two shades. For Pune-raised Kulkarni whose childhood was filled with treks to Malavli and Bhaja near Lonavala, the monsoon is a mottled colour of different shades of green in one go. Like the Sahyadris during the season. For Mumbai-raised Naik, it is a shade of blue, inspired by the sea of tarpaulins that covers homes in the shanties and Antilia alike. So now they have two glazes—monsoon blue and Sahyadri green, inspired by Lonavala and the ghats. 

Manasvi Bhatia worked to get a postbox installed in Valvan, near her property to get people to write letters and send cards. Her mother, Minal Bhatia is an active postcard-sender who sends postcards to people (strangers mostly) across the world.

Bhavana Palrecha, a ceramic ware artist who learnt pottery from Germany, had set up her studio in Pune and then moved back to the hills where she was born and raised. She also teaches German and is a board games enthusiast.

The road less travelled: Offroad junkies started by Amol Sethi, Allan Almeida and Dr Tejas Kulkarni organises and promotes offroading for all makes of 4x4 in India.

Manasvi Bhatia

Hydroponic produce from a nearby farm that Bhatia curates. A box for people to buy fresh veggies that could last for 10-12 days—priced at Rs.1000 for a set of more than 10 items.

Rohit Kulkarni and Bhairavi Naik of Curator’s of Clay came up with a Lonavala-inspired glaze called Sahyadri green which is a mottled colour of different shades of green.

Lonavala Local, a brainchild of Manasvi Bhatia has had board games night, jamming session, paper making workshop, collective community gatherings for networking and interactions, and smokeless chulha-making workshop to teach the tribal communities and village boys of the hills to practice in their day to day life, and a mural art workshop at her second home, Manasi Bungalow in Lonavala.