Our Story
In May of 2005, I visited Mukteshwar for the first time with friends as just another tourist. The Nanda Devi Peaks, the Oak forests, the sleepy valleys, the people, the Fruit orchards made me fell in love with the place. I became a regular visitor to the town of Mukteshwar as I started to look for a piece of land to construct my own mountain home. This dream came to life in 2006 when I bought a nice land in the beautiful and rustic village of Saliyakot. The cottage was done by 2009 and I became a regular in the snug little village. With every visit I connected more to the villagers and the surroundings. The peace, the tranquility and the innocence of the place stayed with me every time I came back home to Gurgaon.
Around the same time a thought was brewing inside me of venturing out and doing something that I was passionate about. I was contemplating taking a break from managing my own software development company. During one such trip to the hills the inception of an idea of having a small cottage resort in the hills took roots. And that’s how “Whispers” took shape and form. Over the next 3 years I dedicated my time and effort into establishing my company Chalet Estates and constructing the cottages brick by brick. It would have been impossible to realize this dream without the dedication of my dearest friend and my architect Swanzal Kak Kapoor and my contractor Dharmendra Darmwal.
Sonal Thakur, Founder and CEO, Chalet Estates (P) Ltd.
A Software Engineer by profession with a MS degree in Computer Engineering from Syracuse University, New York, Chalet Estates is truly a passion coming into being. She is the principal driver behind the vision of Chalet Estates. She got into it when she built her own vacation home in the Kumaon Mountains. In the process she learnt about the regulations, governing land titles, ownership, site preferences by living through the experience. Extolling the benefits of a summer home at a drivable distance from the fast paced life of Delhi and NCR, where kids enjoy daily treks among the rolling hills punctuated by apple, peach and apricot orchards and surreal view of snow covered peaks seemed like an ideal get away for people from the scorching Delhi heat. Subsequently, she helped build another cottage for a friend in the same area and realized that she really had a passion for building secluded, sustainable and environmentally conservative cottages in this area.
Swanzal Kak Kapoor, SAKA Associates
SAKA was established in 1995 and in an eighteen year span we have created a reputation for design excellence, with a range of projects that celebrate uniqueness, fine detailing and the use of materials in their natural form. We have a design approach that is deeply responsive to site context (physical, cultural and historical) and client needs (both stated and perceived) We are committed to the creation of architectural spaces that have a cultural resonance, a sensory quality that renews and a spatial presence that is finely modulated, human scale and derived from the natural topography of the site. Our work has been appreciated in architectural publications and we have won a Presidential Award from the Ministry of Social Welfare for Amar Jyoti School. More recently we have won the IIID Awards(Northern Region) 2012 for best standalone residence and apartment interior and best Corpo-rate Office (2011). We have completed more than 170 projects ranging from low-cost vocational training institutes, worker housing to high-end spas, corporate offices and embassies.
Dharmendra Darmwal, Proprietor – Wonder Construction
While he graduated in Horticulture, he quickly migrated to the field of construction because that’s where his passion lies. He believes in quality over quantity. He & his team worked relentlessly for 3 long years to turn all our dreams & visions into reality. He is also a master at landscaping in the mountains.