Ask anyone in Hartola where the mud house is and they would point you towards the meandering walking path that takes you to our neighbouring Satpuri village. And here is where our dear friend has constructed a cute-looking mud house beside his main cottage where he intends to stay and oversee the construction of his nearly complete cottage.
The mud house of Satpuri from far away
Frankly, I was pretty skeptical when I came to know that he is building a 1-BHK mud house.
As the house took shape, it was the talk of the village. Everybody seems to know about it and has seen it, except me.
So today, I simply had to go. One of the first challenges to reach our friend’s place is that you need to park your vehicle at the end of the Hartola-Satpuri road and take the walking trail. Interestingly, the path takes you through terraced fields and courtyards of villagers who, however, don’t mind someone trespassing and in fact, greet you with a friendly smile and a ‘namaste’.
As is commonplace in the mountains, you will find a community mutt who will attach himself to you on your walk. This time it was Twenty, a ferocious-looking but hopelessly gentle furry ball.
As we asked for directions, a kind soul who was going home from work volunteered to show us the way – without him we would have taken longer to reach our destination. True to the nature of the villagers, he made a detour just to ensure that we get to our goal – he too had seen the mud house and was very appreciative of the fact that our urban friend had tried something new other than the usual RCC construction.
Huffing and puffing our way through the fields, we finally found ourselves at the site. The house would be ready in another 10-15 days.
The mud house which our friend has built
It was a pretty sturdy structure with thick walls and had a bathroom and a kitchen apart from the bedroom. Work was going on full swing and one could make out that once done, it would be a great experience to stay in the house.
After spending an hour or so with our friend we took his leave, glad that his years of perseverance is finally bearing fruit. The fact that he, along with his family and two pets, will be moving in lock, stock and barrel this summer – makes me a happy neighbour.
