Twelve years ago, Kavita and Manoj Nair bought land at the end of a lane in Anjuna, surrounded by paddy fields, with plans to retire there one day. Six years later they built the house. Then they fell in love with the slow life and moved their daughter Devaki there. Then the guest cottage followed — because a beautiful place built with passion and left empty for eleven months a year is simply a waste. The Parijaat tree in the front yard gave the house its name. The peacocks gave it its character.
The Parijaat — Nyctanthes arbor-tristis, the night-flowering jasmine, the tree whose white and orange flowers drop at dawn and carpet the ground with a fragrance so specific and so associated with well-being that the tree has been considered auspicious across the Indian subcontinent for millennia — was already there when Kavita and Manoj Nair found the land. Not planted. Not placed for effect. Simply growing, in the way that sacred trees in Indian gardens often grow, at the front of the property as though it had been waiting for the right house to be built around it.
They named the homestay for it. Not for Anjuna’s famous beach, not for the paddy fields that surround the property on three sides, not for the peacocks that wander in from the scrub beyond the vegetable garden. For the tree in the front yard, whose fragrant flowers spread peace and prosperity. It felt right. It still does.
The Decision and the Move
Kavita and Manoj Nair gave up corporate careers in Mumbai to build a holiday home in Goa — a plan so common in its outline that it has become a cliché of the Goa-adjacent life aspiration, and so specific in its execution that it bears nothing in common with the generic outcome. They bought the land twelve years ago at the end of a small lane off Anjuna’s interior roads, surrounded by paddy fields, hills visible in the distance. The plan: retire here one day. Come for holidays until then.
But Goa, when you build something beautiful in it and then leave it empty for eleven months of the year, exerts a pull that is difficult to ignore. They built the house six years ago — a structure that a guest from Kerala described as a fusion of Mangalorian and eclectic architecture, with old doors, windows, and coloured glass from Fort Kochi forming the unique facade of the guest cottage. And they began to think: why are we not here?
Their daughter Devaki — eight years old at the time of writing, whose school is a short walk from the house — made the decision easier in the specific way that children make decisions easier by being happier in one place than another. They moved. The homestay followed shortly after. The peacocks were already there.
The Property
Parijaat sits in a large garden at the end of a small lane in Anjuna, 1.5 kilometres from Anjuna beach and within walking distance of the cafes, bars, and restaurants that make Anjuna the most interesting village in North Goa’s busy traveller circuit. It is simultaneously in the heart of activity and insulated from it — once you turn off the lane and close the gate, the sounds of Anjuna’s road become irrelevant and the sounds of the garden become primary: birds, wind chimes, the rustle of palms, and the particular silence of paddy fields in the afternoon.
The property is built around the family’s main residence, with the guest cottage sitting adjacent to it — close enough for Kavita and Manoj’s hospitality to be immediately present, far enough for guests to have complete privacy. The swimming pool, fed by the natural water available on a property that was built to be self-sufficient, is visited daily by a Brahmini Kite attempting a quick dip — a specific and delightful piece of wildlife behaviour that guests find themselves watching from the loungers with the particular pleasure of an unexpected spectacle.
The vegetable garden, which supplies fresh produce for the breakfast table, is thoroughly enjoyed by the peacocks who visit from the surrounding scrub. The coconut palms are productive enough that the property is self-sufficient in coconut. There is also a well — and an upcoming pottery studio, where Kavita brings to guests the same skills she practises with the materials of this particular landscape.
The Cottage and the Rooms
The guest cottage’s facade is its most distinctive architectural statement: an array of old windows and doors, sourced from Fort Kochi in Kerala, assembled into a front wall that manages to feel simultaneously historical and entirely contemporary. This is the design intelligence that runs through all of Parijaat: old things placed in new contexts with the confidence of people who have strong aesthetic opinions and the skill to act on them.
Inside, two double rooms — Magpie Robin and Drongo, named for birds in the Goan tradition of naturalist affection — open into a shared sit-out overlooking the serene gardens, the paddy fields, and the hills beyond. The rooms can be rented together or individually, providing flexible accommodation for couples, solo travellers, or small groups who want the full cottage.
Each room has a king-size bed, a writing desk, air conditioning, and the particular quality of furnishing that reflects the owners’ personal taste rather than a decorator’s prescription: handpicked teas and coffees, plenty of books, luxe bathroom amenities with locally sourced toiletries, Blue Tokai coffee — a detail that a guest who loves coffee mentioned specifically with the warmth of someone who was not expecting this quality and found it anyway.
The Breakfast Table
Kavita and Manoj love food. Their vegetable garden and the rhythms of the local market together dictate the breakfast menu — seasonal, fresh, honest. The homemade breakfast cereals are one of the things guests mention most consistently: the specific pleasure of a breakfast that has been made with real knowledge of and care for the ingredients. The alfresco dining area, attached to the kitchen and overlooking the pool and garden, is where mornings gather — the community table that guests describe as the place where the day properly begins, accompanied by good coffee and the sounds of birds.
Room service is not available. Meals are served at pre-arranged timings. This is not a hotel. It is a home, and the breakfast table is where the household comes together.
Kavita’s Pottery
Kavita’s pottery practice — a creative discipline she pursues in the studio at Parijaat — is available to guests who want to learn. The sessions are described by guests as therapeutic, illuminating, and entirely unlike any other activity they associate with a Goa trip. Her daughter Devaki participates in these sessions with the enthusiasm of a child who has grown up watching her mother make things and understands, intuitively, the value of craft.
The pottery sessions, the vegetable garden, the pepper harvest in season — Parijaat offers a version of Goa that has nothing to do with the beach infrastructure and everything to do with the slow life that Kavita and Manoj chose when they moved from Mumbai.
What Anjuna Offers
Parijaat’s position — 1.5 kilometres from Anjuna beach, walking distance from the restaurant belt, adjacent to the paddy fields — makes it the ideal base for the full North Goa experience. The beach. The Wednesday flea market that has been one of Goa’s most famous and most atmospheric markets for decades. The restaurants: Mahi (great food) is almost next door, and the Anjuna-Vagator-Assagao restaurant corridor is within easy reach for those who want to explore the breadth of North Goa’s extraordinary dining culture.
Chapora Fort — the clifftop fortification whose walls are one of the most photographed views in Goa, looking out over the Chapora River and the beaches below — is a short drive. The Anjuna heritage walk, exploring the Goan-Portuguese village architecture that survives in the lanes between the tourist infrastructure, is best done on foot from the homestay. The spice markets of Mapusa are 15 minutes away.
Why It Stays With You
A guest described Parijaat as all heart and soul. Another said it was so artistically designed and completely comfortable at the same time. A third came back — the peacocks were calling us back, they said — and stayed in a different room, finding something new to love about the same place.
Kavita and Manoj Nair built this house as a place to retire to and found, instead, that it was a place to live and a place to share. The Parijaat tree in the front yard. The peacocks in the vegetable garden. The Brahmini Kite at the pool. The Fort Kochi windows in the cottage facade. The morning coffee at the community table. Devaki coming home from school to tell her mother about her day.
This is the slow Goa that exists when you turn off the lane.
Plan Your Visit
Address: End of a small lane, Anjuna, Bardez, North Goa (1.5 km from Anjuna beach; near Mahi restaurant, Anjuna) Website: parijaatgoa.com Booking: Via Raahghar (raahghar.com/hs/parijaat) · TripAdvisor (search ParijaatGoa) · Direct inquiry via website
Hosts: Kavita Nair (potter, gardener, host) and Manoj Nair (host) — moved from Mumbai corporate life to Anjuna slow life Family: Devaki (daughter, 8 years old) and unnamed household staff (including the staff’s son who forages alongside Devaki) Named after: The Parijaat tree (Nyctanthes arbor-tristis, night-flowering jasmine) growing in the front yard
Property: Large garden · Paddy field and hill views · Coconut palms (self-sufficient) · Vegetable garden · Swimming pool · Pottery studio (upcoming) · Alfresco community dining area · Wind chimes throughout Wildlife residents: Peacocks (frequent garden visitors) · Brahmini Kite (daily pool visitor) · Langurs (occasional) · Diverse birdlife (Magpie Robin, Drongo, and more)
The Cottage: Adjacent to main family residence · Old Fort Kochi doors and windows forming the unique facade · Two double rooms + shared sit-out overlooking garden and fields — Magpie Robin: King-size bed · Writing desk · AC · Ensuite bathroom · Books · Handpicked teas and coffees · Blue Tokai coffee · Locally sourced luxe toiletries — Drongo: As above · Different character
Rooms bookable together or individually. When rented together: exclusive use of the shared sit-out and cottage.
Meals: Alfresco breakfast included · Menu dictated by vegetable garden and local market · Homemade breakfast cereals · Fresh produce throughout · No room service · Meals at pre-arranged timings Experiences: Kavita’s pottery sessions · Vegetable garden harvest · Pepper harvesting (seasonal) · Poolside birding (Brahmini Kite daily) · Peaceful garden mornings · Anjuna village walks · Beach (1.5 km)
Check-in: 2:00 PM · Check-out: 11:00 AM Note: Pets not permitted · No smoking inside rooms · Wi-Fi across cottage, dining area, and common spaces
Getting There — Manohar Parrikar International Airport (Mopa): approximately 30–35 km — around 45 minutes by road. The most convenient airport. — Dabolim Airport (South Goa): approximately 55 km — around 1.5 hours. — From Anjuna village centre: approximately 1.5 km — around 5 minutes by vehicle or 20-minute walk. — The property is at the end of a small lane in Anjuna, near Mahi restaurant. Exact directions shared on booking confirmation — the lane is not signed and requires local knowledge to find. — From Mapusa: approximately 12 km — around 20 minutes.
Nearby — Anjuna beach: 1.5 km · Anjuna Wednesday flea market: 2 km · Mahi restaurant: adjacent · Chapora Fort: 6 km · Assagao restaurant belt: 5 km · Vagator: 4 km · Mapusa Friday market: 12 km · Mopa Airport: 30–35 km
Best Time to Visit: November to February for the classic North Goa season — cool, dry, the paddy fields harvested and the landscape at its most golden · October for the post-monsoon green when the paddy fields are at their richest and fullest · March to May for the pre-monsoon warmth and the garden at its most productive · Monsoon (June–September) for the paddy growing season — the property surrounded by green fields, the peacocks active, the Parijaat tree in its most atmospheric season
