All posts by Preetam Reddy

Binsar Forest Retreat

Retreat Kittens

They were born in July 2014, the same month we moved to Binsar. Tanno, their mother, was born and raised at the Retreat. She delivered the triplets sometime towards the end of July. We christened them Smiley, Stripey and Joey – based on their coat – more to differentiate them than anything else. But the names stuck.

Stripey has a striped coat and is the friendliest of the kittens. He has never scratched any of us and is always ready to be picked and petted. Smiley (with a smiley on his head) has moods but loves running around my feet when I walk towards Trishul cottage through the pagdandi next to Tent #2. Joey avoids us most of the time.

Since a few weeks now, a large tom, who we call Billa (tom in Hindi), has arrived at the Retreat and often gets into skirmishes with the kittens, especially Stripey. The staff believe Stripey is a tom, and Smiley and Joey are pussies. Maybe that explains the fights. I have often seen Stripey take a swipe at Billa and duck back. 🙂

Aahna loves chasing the kittens, putting them on her lap and petting them till the kittens tire of it.

Its been a week now since Stripey has disappeared. Billa has had a wound on his side since around the same time. Maybe they got into a territorial fight. Aahna got a touch emotional when she mentioned Stripey today. We hope he has taken up a new residence somewhere else and is safe. We don’t want to think otherwise.

Stripey, Smiley and Joey were our first pets (well, I could say that, though they are really feral cats) and we are glad for their company. A few of our friends and guests have also come to love the kittens, most notably Anshuman Pandey and Pranay Singh. I hope guests to come will love their company at the Retreat.

Guestspeak, Trishul

Joy and Peter Lawson

29-March to 1-April-2015, Trishul room

Binsar Forest Retreat exceeded our expectations.  The accommodation was outstanding – all beautifully decorated with comfortable beds, a warm and welcoming fireplace, big glass windows and doors opening onto a patio with “to die for views of the surrounding forest and Himalayas”.  What more could anyone ask for?

Much thought had gone into the preparation of the tasty food which we greatly appreciated.

The walks through the flowering rhododendron, oak and pine forests were spectacular.  We were delighted to see many birds there that we had not seen throughout the rest of India.  As well, with the assistance of our local village naturalist guide we saw barking deer, ghoral and wild boar.  The guide was extremely knowledgeable and we would have surely missed much without him.

We would highly recommend a stay in Binsar Forest Retreat – such a pretty, peaceful place with friendly, welcoming managers and staff.

Guestspeak, Trishul

Our first guests

Eleanor and Guy Sclater, 3-February to 7-February-2015, Trishul room.

Eleanor and Guy advised me to do the difficult things first. And it was largely due to their prodding that I got started on the website. The website is now live. Thanks Eleanor and Guy. You were the best first guests we could have asked for.

Guy had written a few words about their stay at Binsar Forest Retreat especially for the blog:

“A carefully remodeled complex. Very well preserved, with comfortable en suite rooms, hot water and electricity, and helpful, cheerful staff. An enjoyable vegetarian menu from local produce beautifully cooked.

Terrific bird life, adventurous walks and where else can one see the Trishul peaks while lying in bed.

A must for all who love the hills.”