the aiyappa family is led by 81yearold saraswathi who runs the show along with her son kushalappa together not only do they manage half of the school estate the other half bought by another local family a few generations ago but also keep the homestays heritage intactthe doors of this homestay are the original ones said saraswathi amma she also pointed out that they were much larger than the entrance door which was an extension added to the school thota structure after the indian family took over typically germans are taller which explains the bigger doors moreover for us we bend or hunch a bit and enter the house this is also about showing respect to the house which is a temple of sorts for us she pointed out keeping tradition alive is one of the motives of such homestays around coorg so that you can see many old artefacts and even furniture tastefully retained here at school thota even a europeanstyle fireplace reminds you of the kind of the early occupants of this structurecoorg is an extremely ecologically sensitive area and its locals try hard to maintain the balance between earning from the soil and keeping it sustainable plantations are not only home to various kinds of flora and fauna but also the livelihood for many locals agriculture in todays times can be challenging but families running the show have tried to improvise and keep the fire going in their indianised versions of the colonial way of life a few have even managed to hold on to the original way of life just like a taigun does by keeping a volkswagen badges core values intact in an suv thats completely at home in india its volkswagen genes are unmistakably apparent despite being born and brought up in india it took a visit to this place to reiterate and experience this first hand lesson learnt by going back to school auf wiedersehencontributed by girish karkera consulting editor times auto bennett coleman and co ltddisclaimer the article has been produced on behalf of volkswagen by the times internets spotlight team