Adjudged one of the best spas in the world by Conde Nast Traveller and Homes and Gardens, Ananda, in the Himalayas, is the revitalising destination this side of the Suez Canal. Arthy Muthanna Singh unwinds in the luxurious locale and returns to real life in a cloud of euphoria

This is what divas must feel like…

I’m back from a three-day sojourn at Ananda, in the Himalayas – the revitalising destination this side of the Suez Canal and that’s not only because of its superlative spa – and I’m still on Cloud Nine. Not Cloud Number Two, not Cloud Number Eight, Mr Bryan Adams, but the Cloud. My limbs move slowly, the mind is actually serene. Am I sounding vacuous? To say I feel rejuvenated would only make that word sound more clichéd than it already is. So, what do I say?

I had heard of Ananda before, but was given to understand that it was a laid-back spot where you were more or less left to yourself to do things like ‘commune with nature’ or whatever else one does when Mother Nature has been so generous with the scenery. I wasn’t expecting to be pampered and spoilt. I had also been warned by a well meaning friend. "Carry snacks," she’d said, "the food is supposed to be eclectic; refined but spare." Was she wrong! Fortunately so, because I always feel hungry in the hills. What with the walking, bracing air and the trekking, an appetite was certainly worked up. The only thing that was working, in fact, because the mind was switched off, just like the mobile.

The Shatabdi from New Delhi railway station got me to Haridwar in about four hours. An hour’s slow drive past Rishikesh found me at the entrance of the Tehri Garhwal Maharaja’s Palace. My room overlooked the Rishikesh Valley, with the Ganga flowing through it. The bathroom had the same view, with the large window, bang next to the humungous tub. Breathtaking. Period. Nothing like a scenic bath before lunch, right?

Lunch on the sunny Treetop Deck was scrumptious with generous helpings. Chief Chef, Sumit Kumar, was completely in tune with his cuisine. The weather was very accommodating and so refreshingly different from Delhi’s gloomy winter. So much for all the sexy woollens that I’d packed. A meeting with the spa director, Colin Hall, was next, which had me reeling with enough information to start a spa of my own, but agonising on which of the umpteen treatments to go for. Fortunately, Dr Vikas Gupta’s consultation made things a lot clearer with regard to my body type and other Ayurvedic details which were of paramount importance before the treatments could be picked.

Finally, an ancient Indian honey and sandalwood scrub and an Abhyanga massage were decided upon. Though I was tempted to go in for the Ananda Pure Indulgence deal which involved a milk bath filled with flowers (I’ve always been a secret admirer of Cleopatra) and the Kama Room, which unfortunately, needed a willing partner of the opposite sex which I hadn’t catered for this time; I decided to go with the doctor’s advice.

So, armed with my entire data sheet, I looked forward to the next day when sceptical me had actually decided to attend my first session of beginner’s yoga too. But that was tomorrow. That night, I let Chief chef, Kumar, take me on a sinful fish and chicken journey topped with a divine chocolate mousse. All cooked with the Ayurvedic principles in mind, of course. So, I wasn’t guilty of over indulgence at all!

My yoga session – with a slight drizzle outside – was actually enjoyable. Really. Perhaps the fact that it was held in the impressive Viceregal Hall helped. Being a book lover, I couldn’t resist a visit to the library, which also holds the Maharaja’s collection. Why did my eyes only fall on titles like, The Woman’s Book – Contains Everything a Woman Ought to Know, Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman and such like?

Breakfast and then ‘bath-with-a-view’ time, before surrendering to the earlier mentioned scrub. The 21,000 sq foot spa area – replete with treatment areas, jacuzzis, relaxation rooms – is quite a walk through. Somebody has worked very hard to set the mood just right. Conde Nast Traveller, Homes and Gardens and many others knew what they were talking about when it was judged as one of the best spas in the world.

With my skin tingling with well-being, I was ready for a session at the demonstration kitchen. With a speedy sprouted green gram salad rustled up in minutes and a Thai soup in even less, was I seriously thinking of introducing Ayurvedic principles into my kitchen back home?

That left me just enough time for another soak before rolling down to the Ganga at Rishikesh. I’m not usually the kind who is drawn to crowded religious spots, and, in fact, stay away as a rule, but the evening aarti on the Ganga had lured me there. With young kids from the Parmath Ashram singing bhajans that wafted across the clean, clean waters as we left, I had to admit that I was glad I’d made the effort. Must be something to do with the sublimity of the area. And the overall feeling of ‘go-with-the-flow’ in Ananda. The accent on the second ‘a’ of that word adds the right emphasis to the feeling that you’re left with even after you leave.

The next morning found me on a trek, almost against my wishes. Before I knew it, I was 1645m above sea level at the Kunjapuri temple, with my camera taking in the Himalayan mountains. The aching bones hit me only when we returned after four hours, which was just as well since I had the famous Abhyanga massage slated immediately afterwards. With two therapists working in total synchronisation, the ‘treatment’ was way beyond anything I’d ever expected from all my previous massage experiences. And would you believe it, the therapist in charge was named Ananda too! Coincidence? I don’t think so. Whatever, may her tribe increase.

Back in Delhi, cold and foggy, I refuse to let Ananda out of my system. I am going to let the experience last. And last. To start with, it’s become a part of my vocabulary. Like, ‘You’re in need of an Ananda’, or ‘Have you been Ananda-ed yet?’ As for me, once the magic wears off, Room No. 612, here I come again!