Today I visited at a Holistic Retreat Centre currently being built southwest of Arunachala near the existing Arunai Anantha Hotel. The administration building is finished and work is currently underway on the guest accommodation block.
You can see from the below photograph the beautiful view and darshan of Arunachala. The young banana trees at the left of the administration building are currently occupying the spot where a meeting hall and treatment centre will be built amongst a garden setting.
Below is a photograph of Ashok Kumar and his wife Malathi, the founders of the Holistic Retreat Centre. They have relocated from Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu, where the family's, Ranganthan Trust run a large English medium matriculation school. Ashok Kumar's recent history and experience is in the development of a herbal cosmetics line, which is marketed in Malaysia, Australia and Sri Lanka. Simultaneously to further developing his herbal cosmetics and health care products, Ashok Kumar will also concentrate on the establishment of the Holistic Retreat Centre here at Tiruvannamalai.
As well as operating as a venue for residental retreats and seminars, the Centre will also host training programmes of the Yoga Master, Arun Kumar, of the Infinite Dimension Charitable Trust. The programmes will include teachers training courses, yoga therapist courses and also yoga vacations for visiting guests.
The next photograph shows construction progress on the accommodation block which will house a total of 16 rooms, all with full a/c, double bedrooms with ensuite western style bathroom and small kitchenette with fridge. Construction of the accommodation block is expected to be completed in approximately two months. A bamboo roof, with lights and fans, will be set up on the roof of the accommodation block. The bamboo structure will face Arunachala and supply a venue for satsangs, meetings, talks and yoga.
There are also later plans for the Centre to construct its own restaurant on land adjacent to the accommodation area. The restaurant will primarily serve Tamil South Indian food.
This Holistic Retreat Centre facility will be in operation this season. We will make regular posting on news and development of the Centre. If you have any particular questions regarding specifics of your own stay or questions about using the facility as a venue for your own Retreat, you can get in touch with this Blog using the email function on the left hand column.