What remains of luxury when you take away its familiar props? Marble, metal, scale and the expected visual certainty. It’s almost like Indian hospitality has become fluent in a specific material language. Sariska Lodge at Alwar district in Rajasthan offers a different proposition. The once barren stretch of land is now a thriving ecosystem of flora and fauna, as founders Anand Shekhawat and Puneet Jain have coaxed the 15 acre land with 11 suites into ecological health over time. Mud walls, repurposed wood, rainwater harvesting, vegetable gardens and fruit-bearing trees seem only incidental to the land that is still work in progress, despite its lushness. When I visited Sariska earlier this year, the first thing I registered was the sound of dry leaves underfoot, a steady and brittle crunch. Mud structures emerged from within the landscape. The road took me to a sequence of small adjustments, a turn here, a clearing there, until the idea of reaching something began to dissolve into simply moving through foliage. I arrived at my suite; a shaded canopy built with antique stone columns, stone walls and a swimming pool tucked into its own enclosure. The construction developed partially in collaboration with Alwar- based designer Shipra Singhania of Sketch Design Studio, bringing together multiple techniques.
"The idea of farm to table, so often articulated as a statement elsewhere, is merely how Sariska Lodge operates. What arrives on the plate is rarely far removed from where you have just walked, and the meals are a continuation of your day with herbs, fruits, vegetables and honey from the same premises"
