Royal India Retreat Day 1
Arrival 3am to 8am in Ahmedabad, Gujarat
8am Breakfast
After a light breakfast there will be a quiet hour of reading
or a lecture on religion, meditation, art, history or culture.
This period will be followed by cooking lessons, during
which time the participants will learn to cook satvic vegetarian foods.
11am Juice
12:30pm Lunch
After lunch and until around 4 pm the participants will
either read or devote their time to embroider, paint or sketch, take music
lessons or do some other activity that cultivates reflection and creativity.
Instructors and materials are locally available. They can also meditate if
they wish.
4pm Tea
After tea the participants will go out for a walk or drive
in the countryside.
5pm Nature walk at Raj Jaswant sagar Lake
6pm Dhupp and divo- Incense and lamplighting ceremony
at sunset at the palace
At sunset in the palace, the oil lamp and torches are lit,
and the incense carrier is carried through all the rooms of the palace signaling
the coming of night.
6pm Arti ceremony at ShaktiMa temple Dhrangadhra
8:30pm Dinner
Dinner is served upon guests’ return from the temple.
After dinner, participants can relax or take part in devotional
singing or bhajans.
11pm or earlier Retire
Day 2
Early morning rising; a prescribed regime of hygiene and
cleansing; followed by yoga. Yoga sessions are led by Dr Foram Doshi, an Aryuvedic
doctor and yoga specialist.
After yoga the participants will bathe and sit in a session
of prayer and meditation. Pandit Kanu Bhai the family priest and astrologer
will teach the simple steps of the ritual to the participants.
7am Naubat – Kettle drums sound and shenai plays
morning ragas
8am Breakfast
9am Yoga – prayer ritual of the sun with water incense
and flowers followed by Asanas or exercises.
10 am Meditation
11am Juice
11:15 Meeting the astrologer for casting horoscope. Meeting
tailors and jewelers.
12:30 Lunch
4pm Tea
5pm Nature walk at Raj Jaswant sagar Lake
6pm Dhupp and divo- Incense and lamplighting ceremony at
sunset at Palace
At sunset participants will go to a different temple in
the town each day for the evening ‘arti’ or fire worship ceremony.
These temples are dedicated to the goddesses ShaktiMa and Lakshmi, the gods
Siva, Ram, Krishna, the elephant headed god Ganesh, and the monkey god Hanuman.
There are more than 400 temples in the town and there are temples to other
gods and deified persons that visitors can visit.
8:30pm Dinner
10pm Bharvad Dancers at Palace or at the Krishna Temple.
11pm Retire
Day 3
The participants will be taken in rotation to the desert
and will have a daylong yoga and meditation session in solitude. On this day,
they will meditate in a white tent, beside the simmering salt-water pans of
the desert where the tent seems to float in a mirage.
7am Naubat – Kettle drums sound and shenai plays
morning ragas
8am Breakfast
9amYoga – prayer ritual of the sun with water, with
incense and flowers followed by Asanas or exercises.
10 am Meditation
11am Juice
11:15am Desert Trip- visit the Floating Desert School,
the saltpans, see wildlife.
1pm Lunch in desert
3pm Meditation in the desert
4pm Tea in the desert
6pm Dhupp and divo- Incense and lamplighting ceremony at
sunset at Palace
8:30pm Dinner
Around 10:30 pm the day comes to an end and the participants
retire to their suites,
11pm or earlier Retire
In addition to the structured program suggested above,
participants will do simple acts of kindness everyday, such as feed a bowl
of grain to the resident peacocks and other birds every morning.
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Elevate Destinations: Royal India
Retreat
This extraordinary retreat will be held at the private
Ajitnivas Palace in Dhrangadhara. Your stay there will
connect you with essential harmonies, cultivating your
spirit and cultural awareness in an exquisite environment.
Discover daily harmonies:
- Awaken to morning music, wildflowers and water incense
- Be soothed by traditional massage, nature walks
and temple ceremonies
- Cleanse your mind and body with daily yoga practice
- Satisfy your spirit with desert horse and camel
rides
- Delight in organic cuisine, revel in the palace
performances of native actors and dancers
- Envision your future with the court astrologer.
- Reside in a private, air-conditioned suited arrayed
with Hindu carvings.
- Meditate in your own private courtyard
Cost: $3,500
per person.
Beneficiary:
Floating Desert School
Book now!
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Royal India Retreat Day 10
7am Naubat – Kettle drums sound and shenai plays
morning ragas
8am Breakfast
9am Yoga – prayer ritual of the sun with water, with
incense and flowers followed by Asanas or exercises.
10 am Meditation
11am Juice
12:30 Lunch
4pm Tea
4:30pm Nature walk at Bhad no Nala
6pm Dhupp and divo- Incense and lamplighting ceremony at
sunset at Palace
8:30pm Dinner
11pm or earlier Retire
Day 11
Departure 3am to 6pm from Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
Royal India Retreat Day 7
7am Naubat – Kettle drums sound and shenai plays
morning ragas
8am Breakfast
9amYoga – prayer ritual of the sun with water, with
incense and flowers followed by Asanas or exercises.
10 am Meditation
11am Juice
12:30 Lunch
4pm Tea
6pm Dhupp and divo- Incense and lamplighting ceremony at
sunset at Palace
8:30pm Dinner
9:30pm Classical music performance at Palace
11pm Retire
Day 8
7am Naubat – Kettle drums sound and shenai plays
morning ragas
8am Breakfast
9amYoga – prayer ritual of the sun with water, with
incense and flowers followed by Asanas or exercises.
10 am Meditation
11am Juice
12:30 Lunch
2pm Horse ride in the desert
4pm Tea picnic by lake
6pm Dhupp and divo- Incense and lamplighting ceremony at
sunset at Palace
8:30pm Dinner
11pm or earlier Retire
Day 9
7am Naubat – Kettle drums sound and shenai plays
morning ragas
8am Breakfast
9am Yoga – prayer ritual, of the sun with water,
with incense and flowers followed by Asanas or exercises.
10 am Meditation
11am Juice
12:30 Lunch
4pm Tea
6pm Dhupp and divo- Incense and lamplighting ceremony at
sunset at Palace
6:15 pm Snake Charmers show
8:30pm Dinner
9:30pm Camel Cart night ride in desert
11pm Retire
On two nights the group
will go out on all night long camel cart rides in the desert with the magnificent
cloudless night sky above them.
Royal India Retreat Day 4
7am Naubat – Kettle drums sound and shenai plays
morning ragas
8am Breakfast
9amYoga – prayer ritual of the sun with water, with
incense and flowers followed by Asanas or exercises.
10 am Meditation
11am Juice
12:30 Lunch
4pm Tea
6pm Dhupp and divo- Incense and lamplighting ceremony at
sunset at Palace
8:30pm Dinner
9:30pm Bhajans singing at Palace
11pm or earlier Retire
Day 5
7am Naubat – Kettle drums sound and shenai plays
morning ragas
8am Breakfast
9amYoga – prayer ritual of the sun with water, with
incense and flowers followed by Asanas or exercises.
10 am Meditation
11am Juice
12:30 Lunch
4pm Tea
6pm Dhupp and divo- Incense and lamplighting ceremony at
sunset at Palace
8:00pm Dinner
9pm Bhavai Theatre performance in Rampar village
12pm Retire
Day 6
7am Naubat – Kettle drums sound and shenai plays
morning ragas
8am Breakfast
9amYoga – prayer ritual of the sun with water, with
incense and flowers followed by Asanas or exercises.
10 am Meditation
11am Juice
12 noon Halvad
1 picnic lunch at Halvad lake palace
3pm Meditation in the tower of victory
4pm picnic tea
6pm Dhupp and divo- Incense and lamplighting ceremony at
sunset at Palace
7 pm Arti at ShaktiMa
8:00pm Dinner
11pm or earlier Retire
Royal India Retreat Accommodations
The group will live in 5 unique suites in the palace. These
are decorated with an immense array of carvings of deities of the Hindu pantheon,
of colonial subjects and of representations of all the castes who people the
former kingdom.
A dome dominates the moonrise suite: a bedroom and a large
terrace open from it.
The sunset suite also has two terraces.
The peacock suite has a private courtyard garden while
the two eastern suites look upon the eastern mango garden.
All rooms are air-conditioned and have simple furniture.
In addition to the suites and their adjacent verandas and
courtyards, the group will gather each day in the great Hall called the Suraj
Sabha or the ‘Sun Assembly’, an immense hall with paintings of
former kings and queens, gods, heroes and saints.
Royal India Retreat Logistics
Clothing
It is expected that all participants will acquire proper
traditional Indian clothing for the daily yoga sessions. It is hoped participants
will also wear elegant Indian clothes during the course. Clothes will be made
available and assistance will be provided to teach the interested how to wear
certain costumes. Wearing Indian clothes is important in that it assists the
western visitor to transition to a new culture.
Transportation
All international participants are encouraged to fly directly
to the international airport in Ahmedabad city in the province of Gujarat.
They will be met at the airport by Mr. Dilip Mehta and
Mr. Saktisinh Jadeja and will be driven to Dhrangadhra in air-conditioned
cars. The journey is two hours long. The same procedure will be reversed when
it is time to leave. During their stay appropriate transport will be made
available for trips to the desert or elsewhere.
Communication
All instruction will be in English and interpreters who
speak English, Hindi and Gujarati will be available where required. Personal
Cell or mobile telephones will be made available for those who wish to have
them.
E-mail and telephone services are available.
Costs
The cost of the retreat is $3500. This does not include
airfare costs. A deposit of $1500 must accompany reservations, with the remainder
due 90 days before departure. Participants must acquire visas, inoculations
and traveler’s insurance. In keeping with Elevate Destinations social
mission, five percent of this cost will be donated to the Floating Desert
school (www.floatingdesertschool.org), which provides education to nomadic
children.
Host
This unique program will be hosted by Prince Jayasinhji
Jhala of Dhrangadhra . The Jhalas make their home in Cambridge, Massachusetts
and in Dhrangadhra, India. Trained as a social anthropologist at Harvard,
Jhala has escorted many persons to the Dhrangadhra area since the 1970s.
Dr. Jhala is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at
Temple University. He runs an accredited summer program for graduate and undergraduate
students interested in Hindu religion, art and culture, in Dhrangadhra every
summer. He received his early education in India and a BA in English Literature
before coming to the US to obtain his Masters in media and film from the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology and his PhD in anthropology from Harvard University.
Dr. Jhala has made several films about the culture of communities living in
and around Dhrangadhra. It is his primary area of research, and he has taken
many students and colleagues to this region since 1979 on ethnographic and
film projects.
