Embracing the slow life in Aurangabad

Luxury farmstays and bespoke dining experiences are transforming the home of the Ajanta and Ellora caves

- Shoba Narayan

Former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton was the first guest at Dhyaana Farms in February 2023, but it took several months for the luxury farmstay in Verul, Maharashtra, to open for guests. Two years later, this 14-acre property with just five rooms has transformed itself into an oasis of biodiversity in the arid lands of Aurangabad.

Neem and banyan trees border the organic farms that supply 80% of what the guests eat. Native trees, including papaya, banana, and pomegranate, are ripe for the plucking. Milk and butter come from Gir cows on the property. Rescued Marwari horses take guests on rides through the grasslands surrounding the farm. Sunbirds, kingfishers, munias, and bulbuls fly between the fragrant parijatha, frangipani, and night jasmine shrubs. Beehives supply honey and palm-sized hibiscus flowers are plucked for rose-tinted iced tea. There is no plastic; electricity is solar, and water is harvested from rain. The air quality index sits at 11.7. In contrast, Mumbai, the state capital, veers near 80. "Slow living is the ultimate luxury," says Sahaj Sharma, one of the two owners.

Aurangabad, now Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, has long been the gateway to the Ajanta and Ellora caves that date to the 2nd century BCE. These rock-cut caves were the first in India to be listed as Unesco World Heritage Sites. India now has 44, compared to China's 59 and Italy's 61, the highest in the world. In March, India added six more sites to Unesco's "tentative" list, bringing up its number to 62 tentative World Heritage Sites, a prerequisite for them to become permanent.