In 1947, Ketolira Diwan Bahadur Chengappa hoisted the Indian tricolour at Mercara Fort and brought down the Union Jack — the last Chief Commissioner of Coorg, and the only one of Indian origin in British India. The bungalow he built in 1934 is still in the family. His great-grandson runs it as a homestay. And the cook has been in the kitchen for four decades.
The Bungalow 1934 does not require embellishment. Its story is already one of the most layered and extraordinary in all of Indian heritage hospitality — a family home whose walls have absorbed nearly a century of history, whose kitchen has fed guests since before Indian independence, and whose current custodian, Amrith Thimmaiah, returned from his life to revive a place that four generations of his family had refused to let die.
It begins with Ketolira Diwan Bahadur Chengappa. His CV is among the most remarkable of any person connected to a homestay in India. He served as Assistant Commissioner of Coorg in 1916. He became the first Indian to be appointed as District Magistrate in 1921, during British rule. He was Secretary of the Coorg Legislative Council in 1924. He built this bungalow in 1934, when he was Officiating Commissioner of the region. By 1943, he had become Chief Commissioner of Coorg — and his home became the venue for lavish parties attended by state guests and British officials, with sparkling silverware, gilded crockery, and crisp linens laid out in a dining room that knew how to receive people.
In 1940, his son Major KC ‘Babu’ Medappa was mobilised for World War II. He was martyred on 16 December 1941 and is remembered to this day at the Singapore War Memorial.
And then, on 15 August 1947, Ketolira Chengappa walked to Mercara Fort, hoisted the Indian tricolour, and brought down the Union Jack. It was the end of colonial rule in Coorg Province. He was the last Chief Commissioner of Coorg, and the only one of Indian origin.
The bungalow that witnessed all of this is now a heritage homestay run by his great-grandson. The cook who was there when Gordon Ramsay came to film a television episode still tends the wood-fired stove. The Studebaker that once sat in the car shed is still alive and well somewhere in Coorg. The bungalow, renovated twice since Amrith Thimmaiah opened it to guests in 2013, has what he describes in his own words as a new building with an old soul.
The Bungalow
Located in Yavakapadi village, 26 kilometres from the town of Virajpet, on a coffee estate along a picturesque ridge of the Brahmagiri range of the Western Ghats, The Bungalow 1934 sits in the shadow of Thadiyandamol — the highest peak in Kodagu and the third highest in Karnataka. On a clear day, the distant lights of Madikeri twinkle from the ridge like fireflies. Most mornings the view is shrouded in mist, which clears to reveal dark clumps of trees in the valley and mountains stacked to the horizon. The Tamara Coorg resort is within walking distance; in every other direction, the forest and the coffee plantation carry on as they always have.
The architecture follows the traditional Kodagu form: an elevated open verandah that thrusts into the building with a pitched roof, fanning out into living spaces flanked by bedrooms. The roof uses custom burnt Mangalore tiles — cool in summer, warm in winter. The renovation that Amrith completed in 2023 — a fifteen-month project of radical ambition, inaugurated by his father Ketolira Ganapathi on his birthday with traditional valaga music — introduced bold colour choices, generous wood and stone, textured walls, and a remarkable display of antiques and bric-a-brac assembled over generations. The logo depicts stags gathering under wild fig trees: an image rooted in the days when deer gathered around the bungalow to feed on fermented figs. Antlers, hooves, and hunting trophies are a recurring design thread throughout.
The Rooms
There are six rooms in total: four bedrooms in the main bungalow and two Studebaker Cottages in the converted car annexe.
The four main bungalow bedrooms each offer twin four-poster beds, clean linens and towels, a work desk and chair, and large glass windows framing the outdoor views. The bathrooms have been redesigned in deep jungle green, with giant wood-framed mirrors above live-edge timber washbasin counters and half walls curving around the wet area — an interior intervention that shows Amrith’s background in design as clearly as anything in the house. Pets are not allowed in the main bungalow area.
The two Studebaker Cottages occupy the space where Diwan Bahadur Chengappa’s Studebaker once rested between engagements. They carry forward that legacy with quiet grace — old-world charm and modern comfort, pet-friendly, and fronted by a verandah lined with framed photographs and illustrations about Coorg’s culture, flora, fauna, the sacred Talakaveri, the thookbolcha lamp, and traditional Kodava dances. Traditional cane baskets woven by local artisans line the walls. An exclusive bonfire circle sits outside, and a covered bar lounge and grill completes the outdoor experience.
The Kitchen and the Table
The food at Bungalow 1934 has its own legend, and that legend has a name: Sarsuamma. She has cooked for the Thimmaiah family for four decades. She has given food demonstrations and taught chefs at nearby resorts. She has cooked pandi curry on camera for Gordon Ramsay, whose India episode of Ramsay Uncharted Season 2 — filmed partly in and around The Bungalow — resulted in an entire dining room wall being dedicated to the photographs and memorabilia of that visit.
Sarsuamma learnt from Machavva — Amrith’s late paternal grandmother, whose keema balls, mutton pulao, fish cutlet, and onion pickle were legendary in the family and whose pulao platter now hangs as a framed tribute on the wall. Fancy Ganapathi, Amrith’s mother, adds her own magic to every meal, particularly in desserts, and her homemade chocolates — sold under her brand Chocotila — became sufficiently celebrated that she turned chocolatier in earnest, mentoring locals and launching an organic shop in Virajpet called Flavours.
The dining space itself is worth arriving early for: pale blue floors, grey walls, a long communal table with benches, rustic shelves of old crockery and homemade pickle jars — gooseberry, orange, pepper, bird eye chilli, bamboo shoot, berries, and more. The vintage red 1934 kerosene fridge (it has a silencer) has been repainted avocado green. Antique ceramic water filters and recycled ladders repurposed as hanging lights complete an interior that manages to be simultaneously historic and entirely alive.
The menu is Kodava in its soul: paputtu, akki otti, kadambuttu, noolputtu, pepper rasam, tarkari koot, mange curry, pandi curry, mutton roast, and seasonal specialities such as kemb (colocasia), chekke kuru pajji (jackfruit seed chutney), and bemble (tender bamboo shoot). All meat is fresh — never frozen — procured daily from Virajpet, 26 kilometres away. Vegetables come from the estate’s own organic garden. Everything is cooked on a wood-fired stove in the traditional Kodava manner, without chemicals or food colours. The bonfire barbecue grill, called Chudals, has a suspended butcher’s meat hook for grilled meats.
Breakfast, lunch, evening high tea with snacks, bonfire barbecue, and dinner are all included in the tariff.
What to See and Experience
Thadiyandamol, the highest peak in Kodagu, is a half-day trek from the bungalow — a trail through dense shola forests and grassland that rewards at the summit with views stretching across the Western Ghats. The Brahmagiri Wildlife Sanctuary, one of Coorg’s best preserved protected areas for elephants, leopards, and an exceptional diversity of birds, is in the vicinity. The Tamara Coorg resort is adjacent, accessible on foot from the bungalow, and its pool and facilities are available to non-guests for a fee.
Chocolate and jam-making classes with Fancy are available at the family home lower on the estate — a session that guests who have attended describe as one of the most memorable experiences in Coorg, not least because it ends with eating everything that was made. A jeep safari up to the bungalow — the road requires an expert driver, and the ride is half the adventure — is arranged through the property.
Virajpet, 26 kilometres away, is the nearest town of substance, with markets, restaurants, and the practical infrastructure of Kodagu’s southern district. The Iruppu Falls — one of the most spectacular waterfalls in Karnataka — is within reach. Namdroling Monastery at Bylakuppe, the largest Tibetan settlement outside Tibet, is approximately an hour by road.
Why It Stays With You
Amrith Thimmaiah writes on his website: I began to envision it as a heritage homestay. The understatement is characteristic of a man who spent fifteen months in a second renovation that culminated with his father inaugurating the revamped bungalow on his birthday to traditional valaga music. What he has done is not merely convert an ancestral property into accommodation. He has built an act of memory — a way of keeping alive the stories of Diwan Bahadur Chengappa, of Machavva’s legendary pickles, of the Studebaker in the shed, of the moment in 1947 when his great-grandfather stood at Mercara Fort and changed history with a flag.
Come for the food. Come for the mist. Come for Sarsuamma’s pandi curry. And come because a bungalow built in 1934 by the man who brought down the Union Jack deserves to be full.
Plan Your Visit
Address: Yavakapadi Village, Kakkabe area, Virajpet Taluk, Kodagu (Coorg), Karnataka (26 km from Virajpet) Phone / WhatsApp: +91 99013 15437 (10:00 am – 7:30 pm only) Website: thebungalow1934.com
Host: Amrith Thimmaiah (fourth generation) Cook: Sarsuamma (four decades with the family) Kitchen mentor: Fancy Ganapathi (Amrith’s mother) · chocolatier, Chocotila brand
Accommodation: 6 rooms total — Main bungalow: 4 bedrooms, twin four-poster beds, jungle-green bathrooms, mountain views. No pets. — Studebaker Cottages: 2 rooms in converted car annexe. Pet-friendly. Bonfire circle + covered bar lounge and grill.
Tariff: ₹7,500 per person per day (double occupancy) · ₹10,000 during December–January · ₹15,000 single occupancy (all times). All inclusive: breakfast, lunch, evening tea and snacks, bonfire BBQ, dinner. Meals: Fully Kodava cuisine · Wood-fired stove · All fresh, no frozen meat · Own organic vegetables · No chemicals or food colours Check-in: 12:30 PM · Check-out: 11:00 AM. Arrive before sunset — note is issued to all guests.
Getting There — From Virajpet (nearest town): 26 km. Take the Madikeri Road from Virajpet, turn left at Kadanoor Junction towards Kakkabe. 3 km before Kakkabe, turn left at Kabbinkadu Junction (Yavakapadi post office), drive 4 km towards Tamara, look for the stag signboard and take the sharp right up the dirt track. — From Madikeri (Coorg district HQ): approximately 55 km — around 1.5 hours by road. — From Mysuru: approximately 140 km — around 3 hours. — From Bengaluru: approximately 280 km — around 5–6 hours. — From Kannur Airport (Kerala): approximately 110 km — around 2.5 hours. — A jeep is required for the final approach. The property can arrange this. — Important: arrive before sunset.
Nearby — Thadiyandamol peak (highest in Kodagu): 8 km trek · Tamara Coorg resort: adjacent · Iruppu Falls: 15 km · Brahmagiri Wildlife Sanctuary: 15 km · Virajpet: 26 km · Namdroling Monastery (Bylakuppe): 75 km · Madikeri: 55 km
Best Time to Visit: October to May for clear skies, mountain views, and trekking conditions · December to February for the most atmospheric mist and cool evenings by the bonfire · Monsoon (June–September) for the dramatic, rain-drenched Western Ghats — note that road access becomes more challenging in heavy rain.
