Blogs & Reflections

Japalouppe Equestrian Centre Experience

Spring of 22!!

Those were the best days of my life!!

Oh, when I look back now

That spring seemed to last forever

And if I had the choice

Yeah, I'd always wanna be there

Those were the best days of my life!!

Spring of 2022 has special place not only in my memory, but also my heart. The world was still struggling to finding medical solution to COVID 2020 virus outbreak and ways to deal with extended lockdowns. I felt that the world order had changed with humans locked-in, and birds / animals recapturing open areas. This was especially true for my city Mumbai, one of the most densely populated cities in the world, also known as slum capital of the world. I witnessed permanent impact of technology change on the education sector. This was also the beginning of the period, when I started experiencing challenges associated with joints pains/CRMO (though it got diagnosed only in January 2024).

I attended a 10 days resident Japalouppe Equestrian Centre (https://japalouppe.com/ ) learning about horses, learning riding skills and spending time in wild with animals. The camp had a strict no device rule, which I believe enriched my experience.

Japalouppe is considered as amongst the top riding schools in India. After attending the camp, I developed a deep understanding and wider perspective into the meaning of relationship – its all about trusting each other which enriches both beings involved. Along with a love for horse riding, I also learned important life skills such as responsibility, confidence and independence. As 13 years old, I was able to discover my compassionate side, which I was never aware off. I would call this camp as the beginning of my journey to treat all being with respect, being more considerate towards less fortunate ones and learn about relevance of relationships.

I did a 10 days follow-up camp later that year during winter to further harness my skills and re-live the experience.

The horse is one of the most intelligent and amazing creatures of the animal world. Many people are deluded that horses can only eat, sleep, do hard work, or entertain the audience at races / circus. The truth is that horses can do real miracles changing the lives of children, teenagers, and adults, who had a chance to enjoy horse riding. For those who are lucky to be healthy, horse riding is a perfect way to build self-confidence and to run away from a boring routine. When riding a horse, the concept of time, destination and worries do not exist. A saying used to describe this, “sometimes you have to loosen the lead rope” and that is true. When riding loosen the rope and clear your mind and put the stress of everyday life to the side for a while. It feels like you are on top of the world, seeing things from a different perspective and looking at the bigger picture. Feeling weightless like a jet ski flying across the water floating on water, but instead on land and a horse is flying past everything.

My days at Japalouppe began with nervousness which then graduated into a joy which cannot be explained and ended with an extremely important life lesson. As I opened the door to the barn, I could smell the strong scent of hay and I heard a horse whinny. As soon as I saw a tall horse more than twice the size of me, a twist of nervousness formed inside me and I wondered how I would ever be able to ride that thing. As I learned the basis of horse riding, I realised that most important thing to keep in mind when riding is balance and knowledge on how to keep the horse under control. People can be told how to ride, but each person will have to find a style that works for them. I also learned to enjoy from rides, let my imagination literally runs wild and could imagine myself doing anything that I wanted to be. This experience was truly invaluable.

After a good riding day, before finishing I decided to spend some more time riding solo. Just as I was about to start the horse jumped and I was thrown off its back. I was cold and scared. I had a bitter taste of dirt all over me and in my mouth. I was feeling like I hit something a lot harder than sand and my head was hurting. And yet if someone falls off, they cry. I didn’t. There was only one tiny tear in my eyes, but not because I was hurt. It was a tear of disappointment. I realised that unlike any other sports, horse riding teaches you responsibility for the living creature that you cannot abandon when you are tired or bored. You always have to remember that you are the only one who is accountable for your horse’s health, beauty, mood, and everything connected to it. It is not only about fun but also about continuous care and attention. Although you are a master and your horse has to obey your directions, you should never forget that first and foremost it is your dear friend that you must never offend or hurt. It is here I appreciated that I am here not to strengthen your arms and legs or to win you trophies but to give myself an unforgettable experience of riding, jumping, and feeling unity with another creature.

The Karya Karta Within Me or Fifty Meals Later

When I was five or six, I visited a cataract eye-surgery camp organized by my grandfather. Until then, I had known him as a serious man who rarely spoke. That day, I saw someone different. He moved from one corner of the camp to another with almost childlike enthusiasm, checking that everything was working as planned and barely acknowledging his own health. I watched him not simply helping people, but bringing people together around a purpose. I did not have the words for it then, but I was witnessing what he called being a “Karya Karta”—someone who does the work for the community.

Community service therefore entered my life not as an extracurricular activity, but as something ordinary. I spent time at blood-donation camps, medical camps for slum-dwellers, and community kitchens serving children in tribal areas around Mumbai. Later, through Alpha Leo a Lion Club forum for young children, I began to see another side of service: the importance of having a vision that could bring people together and turn individual efforts into something larger.

Yet I have never been entirely sure what draws me toward service. I began to discover part of that answer in an unexpected place: around horses.

During the summer of 2025, I spent ten days at a residential equestrian program near Mumbai. I had always enjoyed animals, but over those ten days I felt a connection with them that was difficult to explain. After I returned from the camp I also became involved with an NGO that feeds stray dogs in Mumbai.

Then, during my second camp at Japaloupe, that connection was challenged. We normally trained with the same horse, and after two days I felt confident with mine. That evening, however, I was given a different horse. The session began well, but eventually I struggled to control it and was thrown. In the moment, I felt shock and fear. Later that evening, though, the accident affected me differently. I felt rejected and betrayed, almost as if the horse had failed to reciprocate the connection I believed we had.

With time, I realized how unreasonable that expectation was. I could not control the reactions of another person—or another animal—and a connection did not mean that the other side had to respond exactly as I wanted. It was an uncomfortable lesson, but an important one: caring for something does not give me ownership over its response.

Around the same time, I discovered another kind of connection through cooking.

Since the summer of 2025, I have spent most Sunday afternoons cooking at home, often four to eight hours at a time, and sharing many of the meals with children living in communities around my home. Cooking itself feels almost meditative. I enjoy organizing the ingredients, exploring recipes, and then changing them—adding my own variation to the ingredients or process. Like an artist, I have learned that there is no single definition of perfection. Every dish becomes unique because of the way I make it.

One Sunday, I made Mumbai-special pav bhaji. I was fifteen minutes late. As I entered the community, I noticed the children's expressions change: they had begun to think I was not coming. They told me they had been waiting for the meal and had spent the week talking about what I might make. In that moment, the food felt like more than food. It was something they had anticipated, something that connected us across a difference in our circumstances.

Cooking has taught me planning, budgeting, patience and discipline. More importantly, it has taught me something about service. I used to think that helping others meant putting their needs before my own. Now I wonder if that is the whole story. I have to admit that I do these things partly because they make me happy. Cooking gives me a sense of peace; sharing what I make gives me a sense of connection.

Perhaps that does not make my service less genuine. Maybe service does not have to be selfless to be meaningful. My grandfather taught me that community is built through action. Horses taught me that connection cannot be demanded. Cooking has taught me that the joy I receive from giving does not diminish what I give. If anything, it may be what keeps me coming back to the kitchen every Sunday.