Nestled in the beautiful hills of Manali, next to the Beas River is the homestay Raison D’etre.
It is the labour of love of the couple Shalini and Nitin Beri whose biggest fear was "being stuck in a corporate rat race".
“I was living with this fear constantly, and in 2013, we decided to quit our jobs and move back to Kullu for good,” Nitin says.
When the duo first came upon the land on which the home stands, they were taken aback by its beauty. It looked straight out of a painting.
"Since then, we have built the property piece by piece, pouring our hearts into it," Shalini says.
The home features four bedrooms — each named after one of the four seasons of the year. The ‘Spring’ and ‘Summer’ rooms are situated on the ground floor, whereas, the ‘Autumn’ and ‘Winter’ rooms are on the first floor.
Each room opens up to magnificent views of the Himalayas and Beas River.
The place even has a natural spring on the property. The taps in the homestay are connected to the spring.
“This water, naturally warm in winter, is cycled through the geothermal heat pump to extract heat, which is then used to heat the building. Underfloor pipes, spanning almost a kilometre, distribute this heat throughout the building, providing an efficient heating solution,” Nitin explains.
Apart from enjoying nature, guests can also indulge in delicious meals that Shalini prepares.
“We also make a lot of zucchini-based dishes because it grows here in abundance. We prepare it in various ways. There are also local dishes like siddu, which is like a bao stuffed with chutney,” Shalini adds.
Shalini also uses fiddlehead fern to make pickles along with other produce like persimmon achar, plum chutney, peach jam, and quince jam.
The homestay features natural ways of heating and maximises sunlight exposure in winter. Like most buildings in the hills that are made with wood, the homestay also features this hero material.
Additionally, they've incorporated insulating blocks in the construction, which further reduce heating and air conditioning costs.
"Furthermore, all windows are double-glazed with argon gas in between for additional insulation, and the roofs are insulated as well,” Nitin adds.
All operations depend on solar power. Moreover, any excess energy generated during the day is stored in batteries.