We are delighted to introduce our newly renovated room, Bapaiji’s. This room was home to Bapaiji and Mota Papa - ‘grandmother’ and ‘grandfather’ in Parsi Gujarati - from their marriage in 1905. After Mota Papa's passing in 1955, Bapaiji continued to live here until she passed away in 1977. The room has been affectionately known as Bapaiji’s since then. Bapaiji’s room is part of the interconnecting nature of the house, and opens on to the verandah, inner courtyard and swing. It is furnished with their old, rosewood beds, draped with a net canopy. We’ve created an ensuite bathroom, with a separate area for storing clothes and luggage. Bapaiji’s name was Ratanbai. She was a Boatwala from the blue bungalow opposite ours. Her marriage to Fardoonji Bhujwala united the two families. The Boatwala house and the Bhujwala house (ours) are the only remaining Parsi bungalows to remain in Bhuj today. Ratanbai lived her entire life in Bhuj, and is buried in the Parsi Aramghar (place of rest) about a kilometre from our home. Swipe through to see a photograph of Ratanbai and Fardoonji, aa well as three of their grandchildren, Roda, Homi and Khushi sitting on the swing in the courtyard outside their room sometime in the 1940s. The same swing remains there today. There’s also a photo of the scene revealing the original blue limewash, taken in 2012, just before the whole house was renovated to create our homestay, where we now have a total of five guest rooms and look forward to welcoming you. A special thanks to @sohail_wazir_ for taking the images of the new room. #heritagehomestay #bhujhomestay #indianhome #ancestralhome #heritageconservation #indianhomedecor #courtyardhome #parsibungalow

Today, I posted a photo of Climber sleeping on the bench outside Nano on our stories, and was reminded by @artbypranati of this beautiful painting she had made of the same scene back in Dec ‘22. I was amazed she recognised the paving had changed… ‘I painted… so I remember’ - wow! As for Climber, same pose, different location 😹 #heritagehomestay #bhujhomestay #indianhomestay #catsofinstagram #itsacatslife #courtyardhome

The Jafri was a fun room to create because for several decades it had been the outdoor toilet, and only washroom facility of the entire house. Unsurprisingly, there aren’t any pictures of the old interiors 😆, but swipe through and you’ll see a mid-1940s picture of our father, Pestonji, on the shoulders of Ismail, the much-loved caretaker of the house of those times, with the old bathroom behind them. Swipe along further and there’s Ismail’s grandson, Salim, clearing the dusty neem litter from the roof tiles of the renovated room. Jafri is a Gujarati word for the lattice screen that was commonplace in old Parsi bungalows, providing shade to a semi-open room while allowing in light and breeze. We converted the old bathroom into a bedroom, (hence the tiny windows), and enclosed an adjoining part of the courtyard behind a ‘jafri’ to create a dayroom, bathed in natural light. An en-suite bathroom was created to the side, replacing a small go-down, while freeing-up space around the gorgeous large neem tree. #heritagehomestay #indianhome #parsihome #renovationproject #bhujhomestay

In recent days, this red-vented bulbul has been regularly hanging out on the swing. After watering the plants this evening, we now know why…🪺😆 #pinkspeckledeggs #redventedbulbul #pycnonotuscafer #gardenbirds #indiancourtyardhome #heritagehomestay #indianhomestay

Cloudy sunset evenings on the terrace at The Bhuj House 😌🧡🌤️ #heritagehomestay #bhujhomestay #indianhomestay #terraceevenings

The season is beginning to wind down in Bhuj. Trees are losing their leaves and flowering. Maintenance season is starting!

And thank YOU @stephandpete_ for this lovely feature of our homestay in your Gujarat travel vlog! So wonderful to see you travelling this region as a young family, I’m sure it will inspire others to do the same! To see the whole video, you can follow the YouTube links through @stephandpete_ ‘s bio.

Dawn. #bhujhomestay #indianhomestay #cosyveranda #courtyardhome #heritagehomestay #indianhomes

The swing at Bhuj House beautifully painted by Susan Cheshire @suecheshire7 - thank-you so much! 💕🦋 xx

झूला 💕 #traditionalcourtyardhome #indianhomestay #125yroldhouse #parsihome #bhujhomestay #oldworldcharm #bhujhouse #heritagehomestay #heritagehomestaysindia #swinginthecourtyard #jhoola #sunshineafterrain

Bapaiji’s (grand-mother’s) bedroom. Thinking about renovating it. Should we? #alwaysplanning #heritagehomestay #bhujheritage #bhujhomestay #indianhomestay #renovationproject #watchthisspace #slowtravel

Happiness is… #theswingalltoyourself #lyinginthewintersun #noonetoimpress

The Nano room at Bhuj House was made by knocking through a wall between an old bathroom and a store room, hence there are two doors to enter this little, cosy room. As with the whole house, the roof had to be removed in order to stabilise the walls after the 2001 earthquake, so there was a fair amount of deconstruction and reassembly required when we converted this onto one of our four guest-rooms. Nano means little in Gujarati. It is our smallest room at Bhuj House, ideal for single travellers or couples who like being cosy ☺️💛 #heritagehomestay #homeinbhuj #bhujhomestay #kutchhomestay #oldhouse #heritagestayindia #housesofindia #renovation #usewhatyouhave #heritagestories #oldwallstellstories #bhujhouse

Well, who would have imagined - when we said goodbye to Catherine & Varis on 18th March 2020, as the closure of India’s borders forced them to hurriedly prepone their flights home - that it would be SEVENTEEN MONTHS before our doors would once again open and welcome our lovely new guests, Neelu & Bhanu at Bhuj House! It gives us immense pleasure to inform that The Bhuj House has finally REOPENED! 👏👏 We can’t wait to welcome you here… ❤️ #homefromhome #postcovidtravel #homestay #kutchhomestay #safetravel #courtyardhome #beststayinbhuj #feelathome #relaxedatmosphere