During the uncertainty of Covid we ate into most of our savings and since that time life was more or less a routine. For the last couple of years this has been quite taxing, with the inability to get much space to be free. But the last few days had a glimmer of sun shine through the clouds.

As you may know, we run an Airbnb in India, and Airbnb provides a $100 coupon for super hosts that can be redeemed on the platform. $100 may not sound like much, but it nearly paid for a complete 3-night stay at a quaint little cottage close to our favourite beach in India.

When we visited this beach around 7 few years ago, there was absolutely no development - not even a soul on it. Today, though, there are a few people who visit and it's at a nascent stage of commercialization. But the beach is long and a stroll takes you far away from any other human.

The joy of having a never-ending expanse till where the eyes can see, getting roasted in the sun, dipping yourself in an ocean that still has so much of life in it and far less dirt, finding shells that are hard to find on any other beach, and the white sand, shifts something within. The mind, body and soul feel replenished and re-energized, ready to take on the routine again with vigour.

So all of us are now tanned, probably got a couple of months worth of vitamin D in these last few days. For the first time in our lives we saw dolphins from the shore jumping and frolicking about in the surf, came across and picked up multiple window pane oyster shells and even more shells of different sizes and colours.

This break didn’t come easy though - working on the Airbnb has been really tough as we maintain a ranking close to a 5 star there, Bhavika and I do all the deep cleaning, travelling 100 km one way to get the place ready and even meet the guests and taking them for a walk around the property and talk about the medicinal plants we grow etc.

But then to get a paid holiday where you yourself can spend some time reconnecting, building bonds and even enjoying your meals together is something that we don't get to do very often. This has kind of been a dream come true, and we just wanted to shout out to all those who are struggling out there, the sun will shine through.