… where ‘farm fresh’ does not stand for a pizza flavour, where ‘jungle’ is not preceded by ‘concrete’, and where an uphill climb has little to do with corporate ladder. Ek Chidiya tourist cottage – set amid terraced fields at village Nathuakhan, 40 km ahead of Nainital, in the Himalayas – is surrounded by reserved pine forests on two sides, and quietude on all.

You reach here after you have left behind many things: the last call centre cab fell away seven hours back, the nearest railway station came over two hours ago, the last traffic policeman was stationed 35 km back, and the nearest shop is 2-km up the mountain.

This is a place where the only race for a destination is between birds. At Ek Chidiya, you have all the time in the world – to live.