A visit to Firdaus had been on my to-go list for a while, but somehow so far stars had never aligned. When finally our schedules and Firdaus's availability matched last week, I was thrilled. It was going to be a 4 Night-long stay away from our regular schedules, and it was a much needed one too.
So we started out from Noida on Thursday at 4pm to avoid the rush-hour traffic and we did pretty well. Even with a couple of short stops on the way, we reached Naukuchiatal in about seven hours. By the time we were inside Firdaus and having tea, it was past midnight, but we had a whole weekend + 2 days to look forward to.
If you haven't guessed it by now, let me tell you exactly what sort of a place Firdaus is. It is a quaint little homestay, set close to one of the arms of the famous Naukuchiatal. The place has three large bedrooms and one common area on each of two floors. It has a small, equipped kitchen, and a nice, helpful man around the house, called Mahesh.
The furniture and furnishings are traditional, and Smita and Nandan, the couple who has built this place from scratch, have a huge collection of interesting curios that you will find lying around everywhere. One look and you will know that there is an artist's hand in doing up this place.
Once you have explored the interiors, you can head out and discover traditional paintings and artworks that have been done up by Smita and her friends. In fact there's a lot more to explore even within Firdaus and its grounds. Once you are done with the art, you can walk around and look at the plants. You will find interesting angiosperms, crotons, succulents, climbers, fruit trees, and even some fantastic cedars and oaks.
Despite being set at a peaceful, almost remote place, Firdaus is lively. From dawn to dusk, you will be surrounded by songs of countless birds. Apart from the overconfident and talkative house sparrows, you will have an opportunity to spot sunbirds, laughing thrushes, babblers, spotted doves, bee catchers, parrots, hoopoes, and bulbuls. You will find butterflies of various shapes and sizes fluttering around. If you are a romantic, you will fall in love with the place, and you will figure out exactly why the name "Firdaus" is perfect for this little cottage.
When I arrived at Firdaus, I was a little worried that because of all the good things I had heard from my friends, my expectations would prove to be too high and the place would in some way fall short of them. However, my worry proved to be baseless, as the place started growing on me right from the time I saw its silhouette on the night we arrived. And when it was time to leave, the place had started feeling like home. It is a bitter-sweet feeling when a good vacation ends. I guess this is the force that makes travellers keep travelling.
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