Tucked away in the peaceful Himalayas, there’s a place where writers come to tell their stories. Imagine clouds drifting through the room, the meowli bird singing from oak trees, and the mighty Nanda Devi mountain in the distance.
You sip adrak chai and lose yourself in books. Sounds magical, right? This is ‘Himalayan Writing Retreat’ (HWR) located in Satkhol, Nainital district, Uttarakhand, and run by Vandita Dubey and Chetan Mahajan.
“HWR is a true artists’ commune; it takes you literally to another world, ” says Poornima Rajamani, a recipient of the first Emerging Writers Residency Programme in 2024. As she describes it, “The journey starts with a short, scenic walk to the retreat leading to the elegant rooms that overlook the Himalayan peaks. With a cliffside overhang — ingeniously called an island amidst the towering mountains — every element immerses you in the writerly life from the very first step.
Birth of Himalayan Writing Retreat
In 2014, the couple, Vandita and Chetan, faced unexpected challenges. Their young son had respiratory issues due to Gurgaon’s polluted air. Both of them were looking for a simpler lifestyle, so they searched for a place to stay and raise their young kids. They zeroed in on Chirag, a child-centric school, and rented a little place in Satkhol village near Mukteshwar.
It was a slow-paced life. The need to earn a living persisted. After many attempts at earning, Chetan, a Penguin-published author, thought of doing something in the writing world. He felt an unmet need, as most of the people they met wanted to write their stories but did not know where to start.
Thus, the writing workshops began at a friend’s house, which they rented. To their surprise, seven people turned up. People wanted to share their stories and write them well. Thus, in October 2016, Himalayan Writing Retreat was born.
“Generally, people tend to put organisations in boxes about profit; it could be more than that; they can care, love, and do much for their communities. Himalayan Writing Retreat has two main communities: our village, Chirag school and the ecology around us. The other community comprises creators, writers, storytellers, and artists. We want both communities to thrive, and our programmes are geared to serve them differently, Chetan tells The Better India, reminiscing about the philosophy behind their place.
They bought land, built cottages, and used local, sustainable materials like oak wood and mud. The rooms were named after famous authors and poets like Cohen, Ismat, Ghalib, Emily, etc — apt for a place called Himalayan Writing Retreat. Along with the workshops, Vandita, a psychologist, offered her expertise to the people around her. It was interesting for her. “I did not expect or ask for payment for the therapy sessions, yet people would invariably get fruits and vegetables from their land as payment,” she explains.
A place where words find home
Writers were encouraged to write in any form, whether poetry, fiction, or non-fiction. The workshops led by eminent authors were big hits and on the rise until COVID-19 struck. The onsite workshops had to stop, as did the whole world.
The writing workshops shifted online. The First Draft Club (FDC) was born, where aspiring writers met online to write daily, interspersed with five author sessions every Sunday. For a nominal fee of Rs 250, authors got a community to support them and insights on writing.
“I found my writing community, which gave me the focus to write daily. Within a month, I completed the first draft of my novel,” says Dr Shalini Mullick, author of two books, most notably The Way Home. A participant in the first FDC in 2020, she found it so helpful that she continued participating in multiple FDCs.
How your writing journey can help transform a school
Each year, Himalayan Writing Retreat (HWR) hosts the Four-Day Challenge (FDC) four times, drawing eager participants from across the country. A fee of Rs 950 is collected from each participant, and the funds raised through this initiative support The Chirag School — a place close to their hearts, where Vandita and Chetan’s children received their primary education. With enthusiastic participation, the FDC generates approximately Rs 8 lakh annually, contributing significantly to the school’s efforts to provide quality education.
“What I find fascinating is that long after their kids left the school, they have continued supporting the school and village kids.” Anjali Krishna is the current principal of Chirag School. She mentions how a classical programme by Sugandha Upasani held on the “island a sit out at Himalayan Writing Retreat” surrounded by Oak and Kafaal trees and overlooking the Himalayas was instrumental in raising around Rs 1.5 lakh for the school.
Free lunch was offered to anyone who came to the concert. The funds raised by HWR are mainly used to cover the school’s running costs and partly for the expansion of the school. The Chirag school is expanding from Class 5 to Class 6 this year. They will add a class each year till Class 10.
The school fees for children, set at Rs 150, are heavily subsidised through funds raised by the organisation and supported by contributions from others in the community. “More than the material support, the moral support by people and recognition by the parents in the community helps the school a lot.” The principal remembered how Chetan once gave a talk at the school, giving them a peek into the outside world. Even in today’s world, the village kids are unaware of concepts like state and capital. These interactions help them to have a better understanding of the world they live in.
“The courses offered by HWR are on par with the best of the world, like Coursera, but with the added advantage of being Indian-specific,” says Chitra Iyer, who is a participant and co-facilitator of a workshop there. According to her, the resources they provide on their website are a goldmine for writers. It tackles most subjects like genre, editing, agents, and publishing.
Last year, Himalayan Writing Retreat launched the fully-funded HWR Emerging Writers Residency, open to South Asian writers. The idea behind this initiative was to give a space to new writers whose voices are generally not found in the publishing world and to encourage new talent. The retreat also collaborates with the French exchange programme, Villa Swagatram, hosting a French writer for a month-long residency from July to August. This collaboration offers an excellent opportunity for writing, ideation, and skill development. In the 2024 residency, there were sessions with authors like Annie Zaidi, agents like Ashish Chandy, and discussions with the noted filmmaker Dibakar Banerjee.
The book lounge, with its French windows and numerous books, was a favourite place for writers to write their magnum opus. Long walks with the residents’ dogs, Po and Fia, along the undulating hills, treks to the nearby temple, eating delicious apple crumble and samosa, and learning about local festivals like Harela — a day where people offer the first grain grown in the fields to the Gods — all added up to the experience.
This year, the residency has become more prominent. Three nonfiction writers will be selected for the Khozem Merchant fellowship initiated by Aparna Piramal Raje. HWR and Penguin Random House will jointly select nonfiction writers. Aparna Raja Piramal participated in the masterclass led by Mr Shekar Kapur, director of Masoom, Elizabeth, etc, and met Chetan at the retreat there. The bestselling Chemical Khichdi author, Aparna, wanted to support courageous non-fiction writers and instituted this fellowship. It comes with a grant of Rs 50,000, a residential course with Jerry Pinto, a three-week residency, and a chance to get published by Penguin.
From helping aspiring and seasoned writers to providing employment to local youth and raising funds for the Chirag School, HWR is creating quite a ripple in the ecosystem that gets multiplied many times over. “The book lounge is at the heart of the HWR, which invokes Ruskin Bond and wood stoves,” says Poornima, who was there last July.
Its slanting bookhive bookshelves, along with the skylights, are a link to the outside world. The library and the sunlight streaming on the face, with the snow peaks of the Himalayas, provide the perfect backdrop for the writer just to begin the story.
The stars, the great bear, and the dipper constellations can be seen by the naked eye at night, and the twinkling lights of Mukteshwar all cast magic on the people at the retreat.
“Himalayan Writing Retreat is a fantastic place. It gave me a community of writers. The mentoring stays with one long after it is over,” says Ramanjaneya Sharaph, one of the selected writers in 2024 for the Emerging Writers Residency. He is a pushcart nominee for his story, Myself Durges, published in an International anthology called Bridges Beyond Borders.
Chetan and Vandana have created a magical space for writers. One has to go there and let the charm of words do its work. We all have a story in us, and what better way to start 2025 than by picking up the pen and writing? The muse awaits. What are you waiting for? Come.
Edited by Leila Badyari Castelino; All images courtesy Himalayan Writing Retreat
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