Manav Khanduja, Co-founder, Pugdundee Safaris, grew up in a small town and countryside, in the lap of nature. This but naturally translated to a lifelong attachment with nature. Then a chance visit to Corbett National Park at the age of twelve, left an indelible mark. Pursuing environmental law was more of an impulsive decision as the Internet was in its nascent stage, so learning and information about wildlife & conservation was relatively limited. It built the foundation for life-long learning and opened up many opportunities including assisting in field work with projects related to Great Indian Bustard in Rajasthan and Bengal Florican in Dudhwa National Park. In an Exclusive Conversation with The Organic Magazine, Manav talks about his passion and how it created Pugdundee.
What was the vision and inspiration behind setting up Pugdundee Safaris?
Pugdundee is a Hindi word meaning a foot trail commonly used by humans and animals, this word is popularly used for such beaten paths in the Indian jungles.
Driven by the love of Indian jungles it made an unplanned humble beginning in 1986, with a small tented camp in Panna. Between 2007 -2010 two more lodges were setup and it was not until the year 2010 that they all were put together under a common umbrella – Pugdundee Safaris.
Today Pugdundee Safaris is run by a passionate team of wildlifers and hospitality professionals committed in providing an incredible wildlife experience. The team includes naturalists, nature guides, mahouts, boat men, trackers and a marketing team based in Delhi.
What were the challenges faced in the initial years? How many eco /jungle resorts does the brand have and where are they located?
Wildlife & ecotourism is a passion and I am fortunate to enjoy every bit of it. Nothing is taxing and there is no day without a spring in the feet. But in all fairness to your question, challenges are part of one’s life journey and someone rightly said, “Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes them meaningful.”
Keeping a good balance between guest expectations and sustainability is a challenge we face regularly. After all every guest is different, so the challenges are novel. From questions like why we don’t have television, to such limited hours of dining, to no room service, to a limited menu, etc.
What we have realised is that keeping our communication channel open throughout helps in handling situations like these easily. Briefing the guests and sharing relevant information starts from the time of bookings, reiterated in guest vouchers, the guests again briefed during check-in at the lodges, which is further followed by brochures, pamphlets and messages shared in our lodge premises.
With the brand identity being established over the years, it surely is easier today to send our message across but at the same time you are pressed more to match guest expectations. We currently have six lodges in five national parks – Bandhavgarh, Kanha, Pench, Panna and Satpura National Parks.
How does the local community/tribes benefit? What CSR initiatives has Pugdundee taken to give back to community?
The villagers are the true bastions of these forests and we all have to be united for a sustainable tomorrow. To conserve our wild spaces, it’s important that the locals be a part of the emerging economy and get into the mainstream. More than 70% of our team comprises of locals and many are part of the senior management today.
Most of our suppliers & vendors are also local. At Pugdundee our CSR is focussed around helping local tribal schools in our villages with resources including teachers. We regularly conduct workshops around environment, nature and cleanliness.
Where do your kitchens source the daily ingredients from? Your thoughts on zero mile sourcing/Farm to Fork?
We are committed to a “Farm to Table” approach. Many of the vegetables and herbs are sourced from our own organic farms & gardens at the lodges and also locally from nearby farms. Our menus are craftly designed to include local ingredients and we stay away from exotics.
Breakfast is usually inside the park – al fresco. Fresh, wholesome and sumptuous breakfast in the jungle is an experience to look forward to. Lunch is Indian Table D’ Hôte (“The Table of the Host”) or chef’s special for the day. An array of locations is usually arranged for dinner. Dinner is relaxed and generally a mix of local, homegrown, Indian and Continental cuisines.
Tell us about the tribal cuisines curated by Chef Michael at your lodges?
The cuisine at all the Pugdundee properties have their unique culinary touches. The thought of bringing in Chef Michael Swamy was to have local fare at the properties sourced from our own organic farms on the property making this one of the unique selling points of the spaces.
Tribal cuisine is one that is understated and the mystique behind it is in its simplicity of cooking. The tribal cuisine and farm house dinner has been a part of Pugdundee since its inception.
Chef Michael along with the chefs at the properties have helped build the repertoire and highlighted the tribals. A unique cake created by Chef Pankaj at Tree House Pench uses the local Mahua flower in it. The meals are made special in Pench in the surroundings of the organic garden within the porch of a well designed village house.
A kheer made with the same flower is made at the The Tree House Hideaway along with a tribal thali that consists of lentils, beans, local mutton curry and rice and puris stuffed with mashed potatoes. The unique tikkad roti is wrapped in camel hoof leaves and then roasted over coal. The local beans called barbeti is used to make a few vegetable dishes. Kings Lodge has a wonderful tribal meal which is had after watching the local tribals do a series of dance skits which makes the meal all the more appreciated.
The immersive experiences guests can indulge in at your lodges?
At Pugdundee, it is all about the experiences. We have pioneered many novel experiences including the mobile safari in Satpura. In this the guest traverses across Satpura National Park on foot while staying in different mobile camps exclusively set up for the night.
We also pioneered cycling through corridor forest of Pench and Kanha. This is a 3 day trip through one of the best tiger corridors in the country while staying in camps overnight. At the lodges, one can indulge in bush dinners, help out in the organic gardens, spend time in the butterfly garden, go for night trails and enjoy alfresco sundowners.
Your insights on sustainable hospitality in India? Has Covid 19 changed the scenario?
Businesses have been hit worldwide specially the tourism and aviation industry. The low point for us is that these were our peak months when we do about 50% of our business. Wildlife tourism is seasonal in India and annually parks are closed during monsoons from July 1 to September 30. It seems we will now open in October 2021 only in real terms though hoping for work to pick up again by March 2021.
The road ahead may be challenging, yet not one that we won’t conquer. It is going to be long fight against the debilitating virus. Getting our treasured guests back to us will be a slow winding process.
We have decided to take majority of our team members ahead with us, with changes in pay outs for everyone. We don’t wish to leave out any member of Team Pugdundee and do wish to take them along with us in these trying times. Majority of the team is drawn from villages around our lodges. And this decision is so much in sync with their needs, as lack of payouts to them could even put conservation efforts at peril.
We are confident we will all rise like the phoenix and evolve through this situation and the crisis will be behind us eventually. And as long as we all stick together and support each other as a global community, this too shall pass. We are in this together!
Future footprint for the brand?
Work on a lodge is under progress in Tadoba Tiger Reserve and it will open in October 2021. Waghoba Eco Lodge will have 14 individual bungalows made from adobe bricks made on site and Guna vault roofs. This lodge is being designed with great environment care and we hope it will set a new benchmark in the eco-tourism industry.
