The expansive Majithia Farm lends itself to a perfect winter weekend–or longer–getaway. Oozing infinite charm and style, it is set to one side of a massive sprawl of undulating landscaped grounds, and is surrounded by acres of rolling fields.
One of two mirror-image houses offers three spacious and well appointed guest bedrooms – one of which is painted a naughty red! Tastefully furnished with attached dressing rooms and huge en-suite bathrooms, they come kitted out with elegant and eclectic pieces of furniture crafted on the premises.
The lady of the house, Mrs Majithia, is a gracious and thoughtful host, discreetly ensuring her team of trained staff takes care of the guests’ every need. Children are particularly welcomed by all, not least by three resident canines.In true Punjabi spirit, wholesome tasty meals are de rigueur, and the kitchen help will gladly walk guests through the process of rustling up some local fare.
Optimize by coinciding your visit with one of any wellness retreats periodically hosted in the sylvan environs of Majithia Farm. Or you could simply delight in the verdurous nooks and crannies that call for endless cups of tea, pakoras, and sun-soaking accompanied by birdsong.
Hardly forty-five minutes from Chandigarh, it’s also ideally located for those travelling to Manali via Ropar in the summers. Getting here could be a bit tricky for first-timers though.
Directions: Coming in from Delhi, take the road from Shambu (after Ambala) to Kharar via Banur & Landran. At Kharar market, turn left onto the Bassi road and drive six kilometres. Go past the petrol pump at milestone 18th for a couple of hundred metres, and look out for the easily missed signpost. From Chandigarh, exit onto NH21, turning left towards Kharar market; turn right for Bassi, then as above.
Puneetinder Kaur Sidhu, travel enthusiast and the author of Adrift: A junket junkie in Europe is the youngest of four siblings born into an aristocratic family of Punjab. Dogged in her resistance to conform, and with parental pressure easing sufficiently over the years, she had plenty of freedom of choice. And she chose travel.
She was born in Shimla, and spent her formative years at their home, Windsor Terrace, in Kasumpti while schooling at Convent of Jesus & Mary, Chelsea. The irrepressible wanderlust in her found her changing vocations midstream and she joined Singapore International Airlines to give wing to her passion. She has travelled extensively in Asia, North America, Australia, Europe, South Africa and SE Asia; simultaneously exploring the charms within India.
When she is not travelling, she is writing about it. Over the past decade or so, she has created an impressive writing repertoire for herself: as a columnist with Hindustan Times, as a book reviewer for The Tribune and as a contributor to travel magazines in India and overseas. Her work-in-progress, the documenting of colonial heritage along the Old Hindustan-Tibet Road, is an outcome of her long-standing romance with the Himalayas.
