A Thai touch to a dream home in temple town

Inna is small nondescript village, about 13 km from Padubidri on Mangaluru-Karkala highway, also famous for a temple (Mahalingeshwara).

The sleepy tiny village has two specialities — a Thai designed farm house and fruit farm with a variety of fruit-bearing plants and trees and both have been a cynosure of all eyes.

The farm house titled “Su Kantha I” (derived from the couple’s names - Su-priya, Chandra-Kantha and I stands for Inna village), which while read together sounds like a Thai name, Chandrakantha Rao, the proud owner of the house, smiles.

A NITK graduate who passed out in the year 1983 with distinction, he said he had five jobs in hand from campus interviews.

“In the rat race for career, we moved 14 times all over India in the last 24 years and all over the world in the last five years,” he said and added that one question always crept in his mind... “Where will this lead to...”

Chandrakanth says he found the answer in his own village (Inna) where he was born and brought up. As a part of his dream, he constructed a home and named it ‘Sukanthai’ - a Thai designed farm house made from only teak wood imported from Thailand. “A family friend with his team came all the way from Thailand and with the help from 12 local carpenters, it took less than three months to complete the same,” he says and adds that it is just like any Thai home.

In addition, he has also reserved two acre for cultivation of mixed fruits and experiments. In fact, more than 15 varieties of fruit plants including mango, chikoo (sapota), Rambutan, guava, mangosteen, litchi, pear, jack fruit and nutmeg have been cultivated. Besides, over 1,200 pycus plants adorn the farm.

Rao also runs a philanthropic trust - Advaitha Bharatheeya Community Development & Education (ABCD & E) Trust through which free English speaking course is taught in four nearby schools (Inna, Palimar, Belman and Kedinje) apart from providing support for free science and mathematics tuition. “Every year about 600 to 700 students are benefitted from the move,” says Rao.