Set deep in the green folds of Kerala's Thattekad countryside, this newly built heritage-style home carries the soul of an old family house with the ease of a modern one. Carved wooden pillars frame a wide verandah, a sloping tiled roof shelters sunlit interiors, and marigold garlands trace the entrance the way a Kerala home has always welcomed its guests.

Days here follow the rhythm of the forest. Wake to birdsong drifting in from the canopy, carry a cup of filter coffee out to the verandah while mist lifts off the hills, then wander a lawn where benches rest under fruit trees, a vintage bullock cart sits among flowering shrubs and a still pond mirrors the palms.