At Birdsong Home, mornings are soul-nourishing. When you wake up, you can see the hill towns of Kurseong, Sonada, and Ghum as well as the meandering Darjeeling Hill Cart Road in the distance. In the highlands, bluebirds cheerfully announce the arrival of a new day with their active flitting from branch to branch. When Alka Patodia, a 64-year-old presenter, lived in Kolkata, she spent years dreaming of this life.

About the homestay

Patodia, who attended a boarding school in Darjeeling as a child, says to me, “I always wanted a house in the hills where I could be one with nature.” Patodia constructed the three-acre property from the ground up after purchasing it in 2011. She first constructed just one guest room, which she rented out to raise money for more building. There are currently four guest units at the guesthouse. These two buildings each have just one room and are totally private. One of the two other units has three bedrooms, while the other has just two.

The terrace suite is a stand-alone property with two bedrooms, a huge living room, a kitchen and dining area, and a verandah that makes it ideal for families. All of the apartments include large verandahs with seating for relaxing and a wooden swing for taking in the scenery. Large roof terraces are also available, which are excellent for stargazing. Although the Kanchenjunga is not visible from the guesthouse, Patodia claims that the surrounding forests and distant hills more than make up for it.

In-room amenities include electric kettles, microwaves, oil warmers and bed warmers, common induction cooktops, fans, and ensuite bathrooms. “We’re using fans at Birdsong for the first time, which is unfortunate,” complains Patodia. “I can only hope that we won’t need to install air conditioners ten years from now.” The year-round weather in Mirik is usually nice, with lows of -1°C in January and February. Patodia advises traveling in the summer or closer to the end of the year since she believes that visitors who aren’t used to the cold and brisk winds may find the winter months uncomfortable.

One of the property’s highlights is the spacious community/yoga room, which has windows on three sides offering amazing views of the hills and forest. Patodia hosts small-scale yoga retreats for 10–12 people by inviting yoga instructors to use the facilities. She hosts yoga lessons, but when she’s not teaching, people can come in with a cup of tea and curl up with a book or play indoor games like board or carrom.

About the host

Patodia spent 22 years supervising a teaching program for disadvantaged kids at Kolkata’s Loretta House as a Moral Science teacher. She was married, had two grown daughters who were living overseas, and had always wanted to get back to the hills she had grown up in. She spent three years building Birdsong Home, even listing her house in Kolkata on Airbnb to help finance the endeavor. She lives in Mirik and Kolkata, where her husband continues to work. She is an enthusiastic host who enjoys chatting with visitors over meals.

Patodia is also determined to see more of the world. “My goal is to travel abroad for at least two trips and to visit India twice a year,” she informs me. “I have an agreement with my older daughter, who lives in Amsterdam, that if she takes me somewhere new, I’ll go see her. This year, my daughter and I went to Germany and Korea with our school buddies. When will I travel if not right now? She is an engaged and energetic host who is always available for visitors via Whatsapp, even when she is traveling the world. Mankar Suba, her caregiver, is in charge when she’s away and attends to the needs of visitors. Patodia, her pet dog Django, and her cat Munnu reside at the homestay.

The food

Every meal at the homestay is prepared by Suba. Don’t pass up the chance to learn about local ingredients and trees from him; being a native of Mirik, he has an instinctive understanding of the area and the produce. Usually, breakfast consists of one fried and one non-fried food. We provide both because, according to Alka, “many people don’t want to eat fried food at all and some people only want to eat fried food because it’s vacation time.” Along with tea and coffee, expect to see chole-bhature and upma, kachori sabzi and poha, aloo paratha and dhokla, and eggs to order.

There is no European food at the homestay; instead, meals are a combination of Indian and Nepali cuisines. All of the dishes, despite their simplicity, are flavorful. Sample the thukpa, juicy momos, sabzis cooked with native ferns like mingore and munta, and Nepali dal with rice. There are no fruits served at the homestay. According to Patodia,

Mirik usually gets inferior fruits from Siliguri, which she prefers not to serve to visitors. The staff would gladly chop up your fruits if you bring them with you. The induction stoves allow guests to cook for themselves as well, but Patodia advises against doing so for complex dishes and just for quick, simple ones that are ready to eat. The herbal tea offered here is a local specialty that is brewed using

48-hour itinerary for Birdsong Home

Birdsong Home is a haven of peace and relaxation for Patodia. The house is surrounded by woodlands and is about 1.5 km from Mirik’s main town; there are no local eateries or activities. Rather, she suggests creating your own hobbies by utilizing nature. Take a leisurely 1.5-hour stroll along the Ranghbhang River or through the nearby tea gardens, or choose for a more strenuous and demanding 1-hour hike to Mirik Lake and Mirik Bazaar. Alka suggests trying the Indian meal at Hotel Jagjit and the European fare at Cafe by the Lake in the main town.

Don’t overlook a visit to the vivid orange groves in Mirik. Keep an eye out for the numerous resident and visiting birds, including robins, finches, and bluebirds, while you’re at the homestay. Patodia even made her first sighting of great hornbills at the site last year. In an effort to draw in more birds, Patodia intends to plant multiple fruit trees on the land. The best way to kill time and learn unexpected things about the hills, trees, and birds here is to do nothing at all.

Getting there: Mirik is a 1.5-hour drive from Bagdogra Airport. Birdsong Home is about a 20-minute drive from the main Mirik town. A narrow downhill road will lead you to the homestay; you can drive right up to the property.

Accessibility: The property is not recommended for folks with limited mobility and senior citizens. There are several stairs to get to the rooms, which have been built on the natural contours of the land.

Pet-friendly: Yes. The property welcomes pets, as long as they stay with their owners at all times
Doubles from: Rs3,200; website