Resort Hoka Blog
News, Updates, Happenings around the Resort Hoka – the beach resort located at Nagoa, DiuHoka Grove Fire. Kevdi Diu
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- scorched Hoka trees Diu
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- scorched earth
Anyone visiting Diu would usually never fail to miss the dense Hoka tree cover at Kevdi and Nagoa.
There was a fire last month at the Kevdi Hoka grove. And we would have lost an invaluable Hoka forest if not for the amazingly quick and tenacious action by the Diu fire department, also aided by fire tenders from adjoinig town of Una.
The palm trees become sort of tinder boxes when their palms leaves dry and one little spark can set a whole jungle aflame.
The Hoka’s New Name.
Olly enjoys some music
The Resort Hoka is now ‘The Hoka Island Villa’. It’s official and final now. Kind of long and quite a mouthful some would say! But it is done and it’s got a story to it.
I know that more than a few of us are going to miss the old name, A lot of us, including myself, I expect, would continue to call it ‘The Hoka’ as we did before. Incidentally the new abbreviation spells ‘Thiv’, which when said out loud, rhymes with ‘Div’, the local & original name of Diu. But this wasn’t planned it just happened!
The web address will remain as before; www.resorthoka.com/. The decision to retain the original web name was taken by Ram, a regular guest & a friend, and now ‘Chief’ of the Hoka IT division, de jure & de facto. He put his foot down on this… but that’s another story for later.
The hotel is named after the Hoka tree (Genus: Hyphaene species: H. Thebaica). This African branching palm, with various theories about how it found its way to Diu and flourished, is now endemic to the Island . Way back in 1992, trying to figure out a name for our hotel, Sangeeta Singh, a dear friend from Delhi, helped by posing this question: “is there any plant or animal that’s special to that area…??”. And so, the name ‘Hoka’ was chosen. I am sure that Sangeeta doesn’t remember her connection to the name, as then the ‘Hoka’ was just a distant dream of mine!
People come into our hotel asking for a ‘Hook-kaah’. That chilled out smoking device. And they are a little confused, amused or sometimes disappointed when on asking for one; find us pointing at the trees around or being handed a hard red and fibrous Hoka fruit. ‘Hoka’ incidentally also means ‘crazy’ or ‘mad’ in the local village parlance. People say “Hoka thaeee-ga-ya”, meaning, in Gujarati, she or he has gone mad! Also for quite some time people thought it was a family name and I was introduced as Mr. Hoka on a few occasions. Well that’s fine, because we have definitely done some crazy stuff at the Hoka and taken some perfectly mad financial decisions; but it definitely is the tree we are named after.
And then the word ‘Resort’ was affixed to ‘Hoka’ as the whole idea of the venture was to make a place which was peaceful, relaxed, and friendly, warm, personal and interesting. An English lady wrote years ago in a note to us “ Four days at the Hoka was like being at the Betty Ford clinic”. We checked out later what Betty’s place was about and were glad. We were also a whole lot cheaper. Those years the price was Rs. 400 per night. But her note, among other warm notes from other guests, encouraged us to stay the course during tough times.
Finally, the reason the ‘The’ was added to the name as well, was quite honestly, because it seemed the ‘in’ thing to do those days. Yes people thought that that gave your name class, more substance and a certain style! But mainly, to me it also made the name a little longer, a mouthful and a bit of a tongue twister. A hallmark of all our names. Our restaurant has recently been re-named ‘Cat’s Eye View’. No the idea wasn’t to be different but to have fun and enjoy the names! And if that makes us different, that’s cool too.
However to come back to the name change… as time passed and business grew, a need was felt to remove the word ‘Resort’ from the name. And the primary reason was that though our guests were mostly happy, however not surprisingly quite a few expressed reservations or disappointment over the fact that the ‘Resort Hoka’ was not the large property that they imagined it to be. And considering that they had a point, since the hotel industry norm tends to connote the term ‘resort’ with a large property, duly offering various service and recreational facilities and since we, in the initial years did not offer even television and hot water was by the bucket and since it was difficult to explain to the world that “NO NO, even a small and simple place can be a ‘resort’…” and since it was far easier and cheaper to change the name than.. 
.. to increase the size of the property, to buy another acre or two of prime (read ‘unaffordable 
]..commercial land, and since we never wanted ‘The’ Hoka to be a typical large hotel, wherein it would lose its personal touch and since we did not want our new customers to feel as if they had been shortchanged on account of a ‘misleading’ name and …and so we decided to drop the word ‘Resort’.
We were, (and still are) looking to take our guests on a boat ride and not on a cruise. So it is apt that we call our boat a boat and not a ‘Cruise liner’! There is a different fun, tranquility and pleasure in sailing a boat as compare to that of sailing on a ship. “A boat ride allows us to explore the intimate nooks and crannies of the coast, to traverse the shallows, and to drop our anchor whenever the fancy takes us – outside the deep and busy waters of the shipping lanes”. These are Edward Simpson’s words beautifully conveying our thoughts and the Hoka idea.
The other reason has been the inflexion point in the change in our surroundings. New buildings around necessitated the construction of a high compound wall around our property. This led to a major shift in our design concept for the Hoka. Whereas before it was an attempt to maintain a harmony with the natural surroundings, it now became an overriding endeavour to retain the ‘warm’ and ‘little oasis’ quality that the Hoka was & meant to us, our regular guests and those new clientele who were on the lookout for such spaces. To me, The Hoka quite often nowadays, feels like an island within an island. Trying to keep its character and stay above the rising waters of seemingly mindless change around.
And today, about 14 years later, the building asks for repair & renovation and there is scope for refining the spaces within the hotel and the rooms; however, despite these changes, we hope that ‘The Hoka’ has managed to and will continue to preserve its core qualities. And these are the qualities, of being genuine, simple and honest, which though the hardest to achieve and keep, but to us the essence of a good place to stay. …and the essence of a good Life itself.
‘THE HOKA ISLAND VILLA’,
Yours truly,
Aditya Dogra.
Monsoon drive….
23.07.10.
road to Diu
On the 24th of this month we drove down from Udaipur to Diu, and the journey, in the monsoon rains turned out scenic, gentle and lovely. Now as I write this blog I wish that I could embellish it with some pictures. And not for the first time do I regret not having a camera.
The route from Udaipur to Diu is via Ahmedabad and takes you through sections of the Aravalli mountain ranges. The Aravallis are interesting in diversity of their formation and geology, and they remain a unique case study for Geologists. The highway and road sides are wonderfully littered with pieces of shining Mica and a myriad of different colour marble stones . You could stop and pick up some interesting stones on the way.
Being the monsoons the mountain rivulets and streams were flowing, the Ghatis and the hills lush green were immersed in fine mist like clouds. It made us feel like stopping the car, stepping out and walking out into the inviting meadows and hillsides. However I was a little unsure about the road conditions and wanted to reach Diu before dark. The weather forecast was heavy rain in the Saurashtra region, and it made sense to be careful whilst driving in bad weather. Especially with Parul, my travel mate (the panic queen), being the chief commentator on driving quality and so on!
Having left Udaipur around six early morning; two hours later, hungry and still a little sleep deprived we pulled into the Rajasthan tourism motel in Ratanpur at the Rajasthan-Gujarat border. There is a check post at this point and one could see the road traffic officials and their junior staff being openly handed out money by truck drivers as they drove their trucks past the lathi wielding personnel. The scenario left us with a bad taste, and yet at the same time was comical in the way corruption was on open display for all. It was so brazen and blatant that it was unnerving.
The two cups of tea, omellete and aloo paratha were fresh and good. The Ratanpur Rajasthan tourism motel is located in a most scenic location, surrounded by hills and next to a river bed. It makes for an excellent stopover for those driving from Diu to Udaipur or onwards. Ratanpur is about 110 km from Ahmedabad. They also have a very basic Bar for thirsty folks. Their six rooms, some of which are air-conditioned are okay and moderately priced.
The breakfast got us back on our feet and we sped on towards Ahmedabad. Parul, from Germany, opined that this highway section from Ratanpur border to Ahmedabad must be among the best in country. This is very true, as apart from the excellent road surface, this well aligned four lane highway runs through a sparsely populated area, which makes driving safer and less stressful.
It took us about 4 hours from Udaipur to Ahmedabad. We bypassed the big city by taking the Gandhinagar Highway which connects to NH-8B.
Though raining steadily and heavily in patches, we, after weighing options, decided to take the forest road via Tulsishyam and through the lion sanctuary. This turned out to be a good decision as the jungle was in monsoon bloom, and all water bodies and village streams full and flowing. Parul, who had been sleeping since we entered Ahmedabad environs, now woke up, looked out of the car window and said “WOW”. She spotted a Sambar, lots Chital deer, a peacock and peahen. Unfortunately she was not granted her fervent wish of spotting lions.
We reached Diu at 6:00 pm. We had driven almost non-stop for last 12 hours. After the hot shower, the cold beer felt very good and well deserved. It was good to be back in Diu.
For the car buffs: I was driving my Mahindra Xylo. It’s done about 18,000 km and until now has proven to be good value for money. It is a spacious and comfortable car and good for those like me doing long distances. Its engine delivers ample power and torque over a good RPM range, thereby making driving a pleasure. It also has a high ground clearance for bad roads. Sadly the interiors and other fittings could have been far better, and the Xylo is smitten with the usual Indian car problems of delinquent nuts and screws and rivets coming lose. It isn’t a car for high speeds as it tends to roll (also when a high speed truck speeds past you!) and steering feels over-servo at speeds over hundred kmph. Though, I could easily touch 150 kmph whilst getting a thrill overtaking everyone on the highway.
Gir Lion Sanctuary
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Covering 1883 sq. kms, the Gir forest and ecosystem in Gujarat, is commonly described as the last home of the Asiatic lion, panthera leo persica.
An area of 1421 sq. km is designated ‘Protected area’ (PA). Of this 259 sq. km is the well known Gir National park area, the Lion sanctuary area is 1153 sq. km and finally another 470 sq. km constitutes a buffer zone of protected and unclassed forest.
The Gir ecosystem is home to 32 species of mammals, around 300 species of birds, 26 species of reptiles and many thousands of insect species. The carnivores are the Asiatic lion, leopard, jungle cat, hyena, and jackal. Herbivores are Nilgai, Chital, Sambar, Antelope, Chinkara, Wild Boar and some Black buck. In reptiles apart from a large species of snakes Gir has a high population of Marsh crocodiles.
In order to reduce the burden and disturbance of tourism in the park and sanctuary area and to educate visitors on the flora and fauna; an interpretation zone has been set up at Devalia in the Gir park area. This is a small information centre and a 412 hectare of chain linked fenced area, within which it is possible to view the forest and various animals within a much shorter time and distance.
The wild life population has increased due to successful conservation programs. However the benefits of this have been largely nullified by the loss of natural habitat of the wild animals. Thus lions and leopards straying into human inhabited areas are a fairly common occurrence now. Surprisingly in 1995 a pride of lions crossed over onto the island of Diu. The forest department, with difficulty trapped them and released them back in the forest. Again in 2003 a leopard strayed into Diu and played havoc with the livestock and farmers. It took the forest rangers almost three months before they could catch and return the leopard to the Gir forest.[see photo].
It is evident that the state has fallen short whilst ensuring protection to this last abode of the Asian lion and other flora and fauna of the ecosystem. A visit to the Gir forest and surroundings sadly shows the growing conflict between Man and the Wild. Uncontrolled temple activity within the sensitive zones of the forest poses serious problems for the forest department. Human settlement growth and industries within and along the periphery of the forest; are serious threats to the wildlife and their future. Last year, for the first time a gang of poachers, allegedly from Madhya Pradesh, were caught within the Gir sanctuary. It will take a lot more political will, hard decisions; along with better quality trained, equipped and facilitated forest services to ensure the future of the lion and Gir ecosystem.
April 24th 2010, and lasting about 4 days, there is a lion census to be held at the Gir lion sanctuary. And it is hoped that the lion count crosses 400. Up from 359 recorded, in the last census, in 2005.
Resort Hoka Carrom story.
Oliver is a regular here..
The Carrom board at the Resort Hoka verandah lounge cum restaurant area is surprisingly popular. I think we bought it for Rs. 800, nearly 4 years ago. It was my idea to put it in the staff room, in order to cut down the time wasted watching television! However, like many ‘good intentions’ plans, this one didn’t work. And the carom board was soon in some storage corner in the hotel.
I don’t remember when, but one day the carrom board found its way to the Resort Hoka front verandah. And its usage exceeded all expectations. Any plans of installing a pool table, in the proposed Hoka Indoor games area, were shelved indefinitely now. Carrom versus pool table; that’s like football versus tennis. So I soon imagined. One football, a ground and 22 persons kicking that one ball around! That’s football? Its immensely affordable too. Far simpler and value for money.
Last monsoon the carrom board got soaked in the rain at night. We had forgotten to put it inside. I thought that it’s a goner and its time to buy a new one. But the ply surface soon dried and the board was soon back in service. Now the trajectory of the striker is a bit ‘iff-ish’ and ‘offish’. But that lends its own colour to the carrom game proceedings. With regular doses of boric powder its still hanging in there.
During times when the Resort Hoka, has families with young infants or children, there is a standard mystery of the missing striker and carom coins ever so often. Children have an amazing capacity to find things to do with carom coins and strikers. They don’t believe in or simply do not agree with these ridiculous rules that adults have invented. For example why can’t one stand on the carom board and stomp one’s feet? Now that’s a lot of fun too. And why can’t you use your feet, instead of fingers, to knock the coins into the corner pockets? And why just the corner pockets, why not right into the various nooks and corners of the hotel. And so the mystery of the missing strikers and coins is intermittently solved or remains. During such times we need to buy a box of extra strikers and coins. It’s a small price to pay for the loads of entertainment the missing strikers have obviously provided to some of the Hoka guests.
Whilst its my desire to have some more games and also a reading room and mini library at the Resort Hoka. The carom story made me once again realize that there are solutions that are simple and this simplicity in itself is the main attraction, relaxing and fun ensuring for many of us.
Cheers
Aditya
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