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Trip review - Brambles Art Retreat went to India October 2008
We Painted in India at Karmi Farm - retreat, West Bengal, Darjeeling district in the foothills of the Himalayas.
3 days in Kalimpong and finally 3 days in Delhi, ending with a visit to the Taj Mahal.
We offered an amazing opportunity to paint, with tuition, in an exotic location at a remote retreat in India. A family run retreat, Karmi Farm
offered comfortable accommodation at a beautiful location in the foothills of the Himalayas near Darjeeling.
Darjeeling is 7500ft in the Himalayan mountains. Karmi Farm retreat is at 4500ft.
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We flew to Delhi and got a connecting flight to Bagdora arriving early afternoon.
We were collected by Jeeps and driven to Darjeeling. The distance wasn't far but the roads are rough. The speed of the traffic rarely goes above 20 miles per hour.
Culture shock is an understatement - Siliguri is a feast of colour a hustle and bustle of thousands of people getting on with their lives.
Cows walking down the middle of the road, bicycles, tuk tuks, cars, army vehicles, buses and huge tinsel encrusted trucks all vying for space on the road.
Covered with a grey dust, stalls, tin huts, tents, houses, line the route which eventually pan out to open fields of tea, rice and spacious homesteads.
A few mile outside of Siliguri we head up the mountain path, through rich vegetation, with dramatic views of the purple mountains.
We stopped for tea at a popular resort, Merik, it was a refreshing break after a bumpy ride. Our break was interrupted by a group of monkeys
stealing bananas from a store holder, we watched them wrestling the bananas from the hook and making off with their cache.
We arrived in Darjeeling early afternoon and were met by our host Andrew Frame Pulger. He took us to his family hotel the Bellvue.
Set in a most prominent location at the top of Darjeeling it has spectacular views.
The hotel is basic, clean and functional, with spacious rooms and good staff that are very attentive. There is a rooftop garden that gives a 360 degree
view of Darjeeling the Katchenjunga mountain range and a prime view of people milling in and out of the main square.
Days are short and the evening draws in about 5.30pm. After an early supper we all welcomed an good nights rest.
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Our first excursion was to take a leisurely walk to Darjeeling Zoo and the Everest Museum. About 30 minutes on foot with stunning view along the way.
The zoo was very busy, lots of crowds. Its large and spacious with a gentle climb to the Everest Museum.
Its a small museum but full of interesting photos information and artifacts used on climbs over the years.
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We then where free to roam around the zoo, we saw tigers a snow leopard, monk jacks, brown bears and red pandas.
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In the afternoon half the group visited a local Thangkas painter that lives and works in Darjeeling while the other half had a shopping spree.
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The Thangkas painter - Dawala very kindly invited us to his home to see his paintings and his tiny studio. Dawala has been painting Thangkas for 35 years
he was taught by his father. He uses the paints handed down by his father, secretly brought from Tibet. They are made from grinding down precious stones that are
said to have medicinal qualities.
It can take up to 3 months to grind down a stone to get enough paint to work with. Dawala said he only has enough paint to paint another 15 paintings.
As it can take up to 9 months to complete a large painting Dawala probably has enough to see him through to retirement. Dawala prides himself on the accuracy
of his work, he said if a senior religious Lama looked at any of his work they would see it was perfectly painted just as Thangkas have always been painted.
Dawalas work is commissioned by people all over the world. It was also a privilege to visit the home of Dawala, his beautiful flat although very small and modern
was an insight in to the life of a working artist in Darjeeling.
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The following morning we all went to visit a tea garden. Perched on the side of Darjeeling, Happy Valley tea garden had recently been rebuilt with funding from
major customers such as Harrods. It has been rebuilt in a traditional manner with all the original British machinery reinstalled. It was great to see how the famous
Darjeeling Tea was processed. The building was still being finished, however work was still in progress. The tea was being harvested and dried ready to be exported all
over the world. The guide in the workroom gave us a very extensive tour. At our own pace we could look at everything for as long as we liked.
Well worth a visit, a simple process providing luxury tea for an export market and sustaining employment for the locals.
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Famous for its sunrise to be viewed at 4.30am the group chose to view a sunset and combine it with a short trek. Not sure if it would be too arduous at 7500ft,
ponies where available outside the hotel. The walk was about 6km a slow incline through Darjeeling Ghoom and the beautiful countryside.
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many on foot. It is a very interesting place full of people working very hard making a living preparing wool for carpets, knotting carpets, triming and finishing.
These carpets are so much in demand they have an order book full to the end of November 2009. There are also ladies knitting hats,socks and
mittens for their shop. Where you can also buy beautiful woven wraps and scarves, woven bags and cushions, carpets and more.
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One of our guests was allowed to try out the saw.
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Part 2 - Karmi Farm Retreat
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We set off at noon for Karmi Farm, another bumpy ride through the countryside, passing by and through many of the Tea Gardens.
The small tea plants growing as bushes, they make a beautiful pattern across the steep sided landscape.
Andrew had organised a picnic so we stopped at the side of the road to take advantage of the stunning views.
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the hillside at 4500ft is very beautiful, homely and tranquil. A perfect place to relax and paint. We where welcomed by Andrews mother Deki, armed
with a pot of fresh Darjeeling tea and her delicious cake. The view all around of the mountains are dramatic and stunning. One of our guests was moved
to tears on arriving at the farm. It is a really beautiful place.
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Karmi Farm is the family home of the Pulger-Frame family, Our host Andrew Pulger-Frame, maternal great grandson of RajaTenduk Pulger of the
ancient Sikkimese Lepcha tribe, and son of a Scottish Tea Planter, spent much of his childhood in and around the area. The combination of his fluent
English and Nepalese, his local current and historic knowledge plus his experience as a trekking guide to Everest Base Camp ensures we can make the
most of this stunning area.
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We spent a full seven days painting in and around the retreat. The weather was beautiful, not too hot, t-shirts and shorts, very comfortable in the shade.
Guests painted in Watercolour or Acrylic, lots of drawing in pencil or pen. We also spent a whole day drawing portraits of all the staff and children.
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A collection of the paintings from Karmi Farm. Guests worked in sketch books with pen or pencil, they worked on small paintings to capture
an essence of their surroundings and they worked on larger paintings to allow for free expression or more detail. They all spent a very
enjoyable day drawing portraits of the staff.
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During their time at Karmi guests went for walks, this allowed them to visit friends of the retreat in the local area. They also spent a day
painting and sketching at the family monastery. A lovely walk and superb views up the mountain then down to the Monastery. The local monk that
looks after the monastery joined us for part of the day. He very kindly signed guests work in beautiful script.
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On the final evening at Karmi guests where treated to a beautiful display of Tibetan dancing by the local children. Dressed in traditional costume,
they danced to classical songs, it was magical.
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Part 3 - Kalimpong
After 7 beautiful days at the retreat, it was time to move on. We all wanted to stay longer as there was so much more do and tons more to paint.
Back in the jeeps, a beautiful drive to Kalimpong, not such bumpy roads. We stopped for tea at a roadside cafe about an hour away from Kalimpong.
We arrived early afternoon at Hulumba Haven Retreat. Situated half a mile from the centre. As well as offering accommodation and meals, they propagate
orchids and export them all over the world. The best time to see the orchids is in March. After a quick lunch headed into town for a quick recce and
a little shopping.
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The next day we had two jeeps and the local drivers that took us to the main sights we wanted to see. We went to two Tibetan monasteries to see the
colourful decor, dramatic wall paintings and huge wall hangings. Guests sketched faces and images from the wall paintings and took plenty of pictures
for inspiration. We also visited a paper factory and finally ended up in the bazaars in the hustle and bustle of market day. We bought silk saris, scarves
and dawali decorations. It was just short stay in Kalimpong to break the journey back to Bagdogra to catch our plane to New Delhi.
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Part 4 - Delhi and Agra.
We arrived in New Delhi late afternoon, we had been warned that the hotel shuttle service was poor and true to form it didn't turn up. It was much easier
to book and official taxi and get on our way. The Hotel was in an area called Karol Bargh, not the most popular area of New Delhi. To our surprise it turned
out to be very comfortable. The staff where very attentive, the rooms luxurious and air conditioned. It was too late to go and explore so we had dinner in
hotel restaurant, the quality was good and the price very inexpensive.
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We had a very early start the next day, catching a train to Agra at 6.15am. The train station wasn't very far away but there was no assurance a taxi would be available.
Amazingly a cab was found and we arrived in plenty of time to catch our train. We sat in lst class, breakfast was brought to us in our seats.
We arrived in Agra and booked two taxis to take us around the sights for the day. It was warm and misty but not too hot, the cars where air conditioned and the drivers
good guides. It was a very full day we returned to New Delhi deserving our rest.
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Our last day was spent in New Delhi, we visited Caan market, near Lohdi gardens. This was a very up and coming area a little like covent garden, good restaurants,
interesting shops and galleries. We finished off our trip in Lohdi gardens having our final meal in a beautiful restaurant under the stars.
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relaxing, absorbing and a real treat. Such inspiration - to be able to paint in such beautiful surroundings. The trip will be slightly different in 2009, the best of the best
and hopefully more. If you are interested in taking part in our next trip please get in touch.