The Sunset View Farm

   The sunset view farm started off as nothing, just a bare and barren piece of land filled with grass and rocks. The main forest is closer than the nearest village. It was going to take a lot of time to set this place up. There was no water, electricity and no shelter. It was always a dream of my parents to settle down on a farm, filled with many animals. But it was not possible until now, my sister and I were very young when we first bought this farm. Also my parents were in the lights and sound business around that time and were not always at home, but were living on the road most of the time. Then they decided enough was enough, it was time to settle down and spend some time with us. So they started looking at different pieces of land around and eventually found this piece. Originally the plan was supposed to be just a few acres but in the end we bought seventeen acres of land in the middle  of nowhere. 

How’s the weather?

      It wasn’t easy and there was a lot of work to be done. The weather was hot and dry in the summer, then in the monsoon it would rain continuously from the month of July to September and then winter would set in. During winter the days would be hot but the nights would be cold. But ever since we have shifted back from Bangalore the weather has been a bit different. We got rain in the summer and less rain in the monsoon. The weather is starting to change everywhere and it is not a good thing. Rain in the summer can be a good thing and a bad thing, for summers are very dry and hot there is less water, so a little extra rain will be helpful. But for the mango trees when it rains it drops all the flowers. Mango trees love the heat and just thrive in it. The way to do planting here is, plant in the monsoon those plants which love to be in standing water all the time, such as ragi, rice and bamboo. Then in the winter plant most of your plants, such as your veggies, fruits  and all other plants which love a little rain and sun. In the summer try not to do any planting as the ground is very hot and there is less water. But what we do is plant seeds in milk and chip packets to put down for the monsoon. The main plants that grow here are mango, drumstick, ragi, rice, and bajra. Other trees that we have put down are jackfruit, apple, starfruit, guava, Singapore cherries, coffee, pepper and many more. The trees that are not usually grown around here, just need a little more care. 

Back to the Sunset View Farm

   I haven’t been here for a long time, we came back around December 2022 and have started making this farm our home. Due to various reasons we had to move here, though it has been a tough journey we have all survived it and settled in quite well over here.  When we came over here we came by car, and along with us came 9 cats, 4dogs and 1  guinea pig. It was quite a full car. It took us a day and a night to get here, and by the time we got here we were quite exhausted, the house was a little messy and it was like I was revisiting old memories. It was quite exciting to see what we had and what memories it beheld. We got all the animals in, fed them and put them to bed, but they had gotten a lot of sleep on the journey so they were not at all sleepy. Instead  they wanted to play and explore their new environment. The next few days we worked on cleaning the house and getting used to things around here. Previously when we used to stay here we had planted a fair bit of trees and they all had grown quite big. The thing over here is that you have to be very careful of fires as there is dry grass all over the place.  We were not here to see that the dry grass was taken care of, so the people who worked here were irresponsible and did not do their work as they were supposed to. As a result a fire broke out and completely burnt all the trees that we had to the ground. It was a very big loss for us as there were at least 600 trees and only about 15 or so were left. Some came up again. It had left a huge impact on my mum and dad. They had been there to plant and care for each of those trees. Just imagine all your life’s hard work, gone in just a day. We even had the thought about selling the farm and buying a new one somewhere in South India. But after my mom came and saw this farm over here, she didn’t want to let go of it. So the decision was made to move here. Unlike most people who would just give up and go for an easier life, my mum and dad are strong and ready to rebuild this farm. It had always been their dream to have a farm with many trees and animals. I’m happy they didn’t give up on their dream, this shows that anything is possible as long as you are ready to put in the hard work and never give up.   

 The nearest town is Jawhar which is about 24 km from home, then we have Nashik which is 80 km and the closest city is Mumbai which is 160 km roughly. Other than that we also have three villages surrounding us which are Nandgoan, Rajawadi and Bundrichiwadi, they all are about fifteen minutes away give or take. Whenever my sister and I go by cycle we would take about an hour or so to go and come, but that also depends how fast we ride and how many stops we take along the way. These are very hilly regions so there are many slopes to climb, but coming back down is a breeze. The only transport around here are jeeps and buses. The only bus which passes our front gate is at seven in the morning, other than that there are many jeeps in the village which will take you to Jawhar and then over there is a bus stop going to multiple places. Jawhar is a cute little town filled with many shops, not too over the top, and has all the essentials. The jeeps go on a regular basis  over here, so if you ever need something urgently, you can ask one of the jeep owners and they will get it for you. It’s like an Amazon or a flipkart in the jungle. You can also receive amazon parcels over here, they come to Jawhar by courier and then you can pick it up from there. In Rajawadi village there is a jeep driver, who we have known for years, he brings us almost everything we need for our day to day needs. So, even while sitting in the jungle you can get everything you need delivered to your home. In addition to that we also have the seaside, the closest to us is Dahanu. The beaches are clean and food in the restaurants are amazing. If you ever want to buy fresh fish, this is the place to go to.