A walk to remember — Nilachal Vedic Village
Feet were reaching the earth, not the dirty roads, lungs breathing fresh air and not the city smoke, tongue tasting the milk tinged with love and joy, ears celebrating the soothing sound of rain from the sky, while I was walking the path which was forgotten by.
In this world, only a mother’s love is considered closest to God’s love, and who doesn’t want to remain close to the mother? I am sure none. Two of our such mothers’ are mother earth and mother cow — both of them playing a central role in fulfilling the crucial needs of humans. But are we respecting or even recognising what these two mothers are doing for us? In the race of trying to become the cream of the society, ignorantly we are not only troubling people near us but also our these two mothers! Therefore, one must take out some time from his busy schedule and grab the opportunities for experiencing the love of mother earth and the cow. Maybe, then some light will shine in our hearts, and reform our consciousness.
Such an opportunity is available for all at Nilachal Vedic Village (NVV). So I decided to visit this self-sustained eco-village and explore the offerings it has hidden for mankind.
We had reached the NVV on a Saturday morning amidst heavy rains. All throughout our way to NVV, we were worried that our trip might get ruined because of such an extreme shower. But to our surprise, we all loved that weather after reaching there. The drizzling, refreshing breeze, the petrichor, the vibrant green plants and trees, all seemed rejuvenated, removing our fatigue and pumping us with unusual energy. At this moment, I was thinking of how the same rainfall in Mumbai would have made me curse the consequent sickening situation. Clearly, it is not the rains to be blamed nor the people who live in the city. It is the ill desires and the activities deep-rooted inside all of us which has acclimatized us to live the intoxicated life. We all are looking for happiness and satisfaction in life, but coming to this place, I was very much sure that our quest for happiness will be futile because of what we have left behind.
“In the heart that harbors the weed of selfish greed, the flowers of love cannot survive.” — The Journey Home
Our host was Nataraj Gauranga Das, who has been living here for the past many years. He has seen this village grow from barren land to a beautiful community today. Let me first give you a tour of what you can discover at NVV.
NVV is home to the Deities of Lord Jagannath, Baladeva and Subhadra, a natural farm, a purifying Gaushala with more than two hundred indigenous cows and a comfortable guest house with recreational swimming pool.
Situated in the Talasari Taluka of Palghar district, Maharashtra, it is about two hours drive from Mumbai. This kind of self-sufficient and self-sustainable living system Vedic farm community will make you question the slumpy nature of today’s socio-economic and political structure.
The NVV orchard and cow sanctuary at Umbergaon is full of fruit-bearing trees. It is situated along picturesque foothills with the vast blue Arabian Sea on the other side. This location is also known for its “Highway to Happy Way” project which cares for more than a hundred cows rescued from the streets and from being slaughtered.
Cows — Believe me, if you once visit the cows here, they will eternally find a place in your heart. More than 200 sensitive and loving indigenous (Gir) cows are being taken care of at Talasari, and another hundred or so cows are cared for under the “Slaughterhouse to Shelter house” project at Umbergaon. Based on my personal experience, these cows are so receptive that if you caress one of the cows, all of the others will surround you wanting that same love! Isn’t that amazing? Whatever these cows produce is useful to maintain the natural cycle, and therefore including the milk, cow urine, cow dung, etc. are converted into things of our daily use. All these outputs are not only organic but are also useful for you and the environment.
Some of the cow products made are cow-ark, cow urine tablet, ghee, cow-dung dhoop, butter, butter-milk, nasal-ghee, etc. On top of that, butter and ghee here are made from the pure milk of indigenous cows, which has a very high medicinal value.
The Temple — Sri Sri Jagannath Baladeva Subhadra temple here is constructed in the traditional style with cow dung smeared floors and walls. The wall paintings are inspired by the local art form known as Warli. This tribal artwork offers the local people an opportunity to serve and earn while increasing the beauty and ethnicity of the walls. The temple opens early in the morning at 5.00 am with mangal-aarti up to 1.00 pm and again in the evening from 4.15 pm to 8.30 pm closing with the discourse on Bhagavad-Gita.
Farming — Vegetables, pulses, flowers, fruits and grains are grown without using chemical fertilisers or pesticides. Cow dung, cow-urine, slurry from the biogas plant, compost and other organic sources are used as manure and natural pesticides. 70% of the land is under cultivation. While there is no problem of water from July to January, drip irrigation techniques are used during other months.
Vedic Ashram — The residential facilities are divided into three categories:
Guesthouse — It was a pleasurable experience for everyone at the guesthouse which has over 15 rooms divided into dormitories, single bedrooms, double bedrooms, triple bedrooms, and a conference room. Both AC and non-AC rooms are available. A refreshing swimming pool adjoins the residential quarters which was thoroughly enjoyed by the kids 🏊🏻♂️.
The on-campus Grihasthas (householders) and the Brahmacharis support the NVV, from running the temple to growing vegetables and flowers, from making mouth-watering cuisines to taking care of the cows. These are just some of the high-level responsibilities which you can see them doing, but there’s a lot more to their daily activities.
Well, the overnight tour had a lot of activities for us in addition to visiting places inside the NVV mentioned above. If you happened to be part of the overnight trip, one of the first activities will be a seminar where you will know more about the different types of cows, their importance, their history in India, and what products you can make from what they produce. Next, after visiting the goshala, there will be a workshop to learn to make cow products like incense sticks and soaps.
We also had a seminar on life skills, which I would say will surely make you question your current city lifestyle. Then there is the Temple Darshan, where you can sit and participate in singing or hearing beautiful kirtans. From my personal experience, I would suggest the reader spend some time with the soulful kirtans. The peaceful, soothing music will undoubtedly attract your mind and give you if not an out-of-the-world experience, then at least out-of-the-city experience 😛.
The field tours will bring back your childhood countryside experiences if you happen to be from such parts of our country. The fields are full of vegetables and fruits like cabbage, ladyfingers, bitter gourd, papayas, bananas, Sapota, and many more. Also, there are a variety of flowers blossoming there, including roses, marigolds, and lotus. Fortunately, because of not being surrounded by high-rise buildings and city pollution, the sweet aroma of everything here level ups the experience.
Reading this long, I am sure you must be hungry! No worries! We had an excellent breakfast as soon as we came to the NVV. The food you will eat during the tour is cooked using whatever is grown here. Since everything in the fields here is produced by organic farming, the taste of the meals will blow away your mind 🤯. Also, as you may have already guessed and must be expecting to taste the pure desi cow milk, it was given to us in the night. I am not sure as to how many of you might have tasted milk from an indigenous cow. It is not only much tastier but also healthier than the packaged ones. Another drink worth mentioning here is the herbal tea which was loved by everyone on this tour ☕.
So now that you have come more than 100 km out of Mumbai, you can’t leave the opportunity to practice yoga which helps in controlling one’s mind, body, and soul. Chirping birds, cool breeze of air, drizzling weather, and lovely green lush countryside in the morning light, what else do you need? We had a pleasing experience with our expert, Mr. Rupesh, during the seminar, workshops, and yoga.
Another memorable experience I had was with the children of this community. They very easily mingled with our group, delighting us throughout the trip with their playful activities. Their eyes were filled with joy and hope, their minds loaded with lively thoughts, and their hearts permeated with gratitude, courage, and love for everyone. It is something which I fail to see in the conduct of the modern city kids, who are entirely encaptivated by technology. These kids have just a fraction of the facilities which the city boys enjoy, but still, nothing can take away the radiant smile of their brilliant faces.
“The greatest problem in this world is hunger. Not hunger of the stomach but hunger of the heart. All over the world both rich and the poor are suffering. They are lonely, starving for love.” — The Journey Home
The next day was thrilling as we visited Umbergaon, the place where rescued and street cows are being taken care of. Umbergaon is located in a mountainous area with a uniform climate and is already a very popular tourist spot. Here you will find a tower, sitting where you can have a 360° degree view of the complete area and take photos like the one I clicked (third from left in the bottom). Each of the cows here has their own story of how from being roaming on the roads like a stray or being on the brink of getting slaughtered to receiving shelter at this place.
The farm here has a wide variety of fruits which I have already mentioned earlier in this blog. Sadly, they were not ripened, so we couldn’t get a bite. Growing patiently, they will be ready sometime in the future.
The second day of our two-day tour went mostly at Umbergaon. As the sun was ready to fade below the horizon, behind the clouds, so were we to leave the NVV. Before leaving, we had a nice discussion with our host who took our feedback. Everyone shared their beautiful experiences on this tour. Our group consisted of people from all age groups, apparently having different sociocultural values. But, it was no surprise for me as to why we all had spent these two days unanimously just like a family. It was the result of love, not lust, compassion, not anger, wisdom, not fascination, gratitude, not greed, humility, not pride, and generosity, not envy towards each other and mother nature.
In the end, after having the snacks, our host distributed gifts to everyone, and we boarded the bus. Leaving behind the place our memories were imbued with a scent of freshly turned soil, the love of the mother cows, and the happiness which seemed lost.
See you again, my little friend!
There’s a lot more to say about this place — the history, the struggles, the future, the life here, and many more things. But, let’s keep that for some other time until it is ready to move out of my hands.
