Ritu Kapur

No tea. No coffee. No aerated drinks. No smoking. No alcohol. No phones. No connectivity. On paper, this sounds like punishment, but my five days at Atmantan were nothing but peace. A two-hour drive from Pune, Atmantan Wellness Centre overlooks Mulshi Lake, tucked into a pocket of Mulshi and surrounded by the Sahyadri Range. The view proved capable of siphoning the toxic Delhi smog out of me figuratively as much as literally. Atmantan is intentionally self-contained, so don’t plan to step out. One, there’s nowhere to go. Two, there’s everything, and a great deal of blissful nothing, to do within. It’s largely a no-phone zone, with connectivity limited to rooms. Initially irritating. Once the nervous twitch settles, the mind slows to a pace it has forgotten is possible. Arrival hunger and the first mealWe arrived ravenous and were led to an alfresco dining space perched above the lake, Mulshi shimmering quietly below, held in the embrace of the Sahyadris. Lunch service was technically over, it was 3.30pm, but Atmantan does not believe in deprivation through neglect. We were served a Buddha bowl of fresh sprouts, seasonal vegetables, and a sharp, sunlit pineapple dressing. Rooms: uneven, but redeemableWe were on the basic package, roughly ₹1 lakh per person for five nights, sharing a room with twin beds and a sit-out balcony. The room itself was the weakest link. Dark carpets, black and bold pink upholstery, and a vaguely budget-hotel aesthetic jarred sharply against the sereni