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There is an unfathomable sense of networking in certain spaces and certain groups, when you are connected to one NGO comes with it a whole matrix of intertwined goodness pouring into each other's service. Through Dream Village, I met a beautiful soul, Shubham, her introduction in itself will stay with me forever, so too her physical beauty and the presence she has in a room, think Isabela from Encanto, Moana's Te Fiti in her calm state with a bit of Moana herself in an extraordinary human being.
Anyway, it was because I was looking into what projects Shubham was up to that I came across Anara. My first thought was hmm, me at a Women's retreat, how would that look and feel, a bunch of girly girls and me, a soft butch, doing yoga and doing self-care things like manis and pedis. I then checked out https://www.thehumaninspired.com/, and read Neha's(the founder) intro, while reading, I was getting similar vibes about Neha that I got from Shubham. I reached out to her to ask about how she felt having a soft butch at her retreat, her words were comforting and welcoming. Which didn't help me because I was hoping not to be sold on Anara, however as fate would have it, I made it a birthday gift to myself. I needed help with "levelling up" so to say and the universe answered.
The thing I found difficult about taking the road less travelled, is not having that many resources to talk you through the journey. I know too well the whole, get a degree, find a job, find a partner, buy a house, have kids, there is an ideal order however as long as you get there, right but that is far from my life. My values and ideals have changed and I was on a quest to find like-minded people. Apparently, Anara was to be the place to start.
The resort chosen for Anara Kerala, reminded me of Coconut Island's the Village but on a smaller scale, it felt like a glammed-up village on the side of a hill, attached to the backwaters of Varkala. Once you walk past the unostentatious fence, you are met with a well kept pebble stone pathway which leads your eyes down the hill, adorned with an abundance of greenery, plants in pots and planted in the land, scores of every style of tree one imagines when dreaming about being on an island, beds of grass and even a bed hanging from a tree, all the while in the background, the alluring backwaters are calling your name.
I was taken to the restaurant area where Neha had started to set up for day 1 of Anara, So many gifts, from hair products, moon cups, to towels and bags that were embroidered by Neha's mother. This was the first time we were coming together as a group. Slowly and surely, we all appeared, tired souls from our travels getting here, full of anticipation, anxiety and excitement to what would come in the following days. Introductions were a must and then Neha lead us into intention setting, It was time for the Zanaan opening ceremony.
We followed the pebble stone path to the lower levels of the grounds, walking adjacent with the backwaters, the stationary bench chairs teased us as we walk towards the sanctum where we would be welcomed to Anara with water and smoke, water in the virtuous act of washing of our feet and incense smoke blessing us, over our heads. It was here I was reunited with Shubham, it was here I experienced the force that is Gulnaar and the amalgamation of these two goddess, Zanaan. They enriched the occasion with colour and divinity, bestowing us with a dupatta, books and a peacock feather.
Anara Kerala was a collaboration between Neha and Zanaan.
