4 Mindfully Spent Days At Woods At Sasan for a Writing Retreat with Bhavna Kher

Writing has been my passion for over 18 years so when I heard about the Writing Retreat that screenwriter, brand consultant and former creative director of Ogilvy – Bhavna Kher was going to conduct I was immediately interested in attending the same. Not only this but I also wanted to connect with other writers and also sharpen my writing skills as well. It was a perfect opportunity to find inspiration within a focused environment.

Moreover, the 4-day writing retreat, (September 14- September 18th) which was conducted at a luxury boutique resort provided the perfect break from city life, and mindfully focused on sharpening one’s writing skills. Having our independent quarters, we were surrounded by thickets of trees, within a lush mango orchard on the fringes of the Sasan Gir forest. It was the perfect place to calmly create a story without any disturbances. Moreover, in between the writing exercises, we went for a safari, and eco-trail, and were given bespoke Ayurvedic, Yoga and Wellness programs. It was truly a wonderful experience.

As I have published one fiction and one non-fiction book, I was not too savvy with the fiction genre and this is exactly what the retreat aimed at helping me learn. I got insightful ways how to personify my cat Mini so that I could create a story about an incident from my life regarding her. We all had to pick up a memory from our past and create a story on the same.

A truly unforgettable experience, each day we had sessions with Bhavna where we were introduced to different concepts regarding writing. Some of the interesting topics that I preferred were our relationship with writing, the importance of note-taking, and spiritual and cognitive tools in writing.

Each morning, it was lovely to wake up to a packed schedule. The rooms were so cosy with a minimalistic style that gave both a luxurious and welcoming appeal. Each session was so focused and practical; and I learned a lot about character development, plotting and even editing skills. I’ve been facing writer’s block for a while so this workshop has helped me move past this block.

A great highlight of this retreat was the sense of community. It was easy to bond with everyone over meals, post workshops or during the nature trails and other activities. It was a very supportive atmosphere. It was wonderfully organised by Saniya Malhotra with the help of the team from Woods at Sasan.

This retreat was exactly what I needed to reset my writing practice and learn some more about fiction writing. I even got to engage in pottery activities over there. So while the centric activity was the writing retreat I was also left with memories that will last for a lifetime.

Some of the hallmarks of this trip were having the silent dinner, which was a dinner eaten in absolute silence, the BBQ dinner with live music, herbal tea session, safari, full moon meditation and the movie beneath the stars. We were especially lucky to catch hold of many animals such as a peacock, leopard, spotted deer, etc. while on the safari – of course, the highlight was catching sight of a lion and lioness!