Submitted by: Navadvipa dasa
VEDIC VILLAGE REVIEW #45
August 16, 2015. Adventures in New Jaipur, Prabhupadanuga Farm in Fiji
On the way to the New Jaipur farm in Fiji, Govindapriya, SriGovinda, Radharani stop to pet a horse…
NEW ARRIVALS
After ten months of preparation, and a long time waiting on the not-so-fast wheels of the Fiji
bureaucracy, Braja Prabhu, with wife Govindapriya and daughter Radharani, finally landed in Fiji. They
had flown out of Budapest, Hungary, transiting Europe and Asia, coming non-stop from Hong Kong on
their last leg of the trip. Catching a domestic flight in Nadi on the main island of Viti Levu, they flew 45
minutes to Labasa on our island of Vanua Levu. Sridevi and I greeted them at the airport and
immediately we went… shopping! Of course, only for basic necessities suitable for simple country living.
We showed them a bit of the dusty main street of Labasa, a sugar town of Indians and local
natives which reminds one of a small Indian city. Then we drove two hours across the mountains and
backbone of the island to the wet, green side which receives the prevailing southeast tradewinds.
Stopping twice for stretching our legs, at the spring on the mountain top and at a waterfall called
Nasavu, we drove into the New Jaipur entrance. Passing the water cress, the dalo and kava fields,
crossing the river, through the orchards, along the cliffs and up to the cottages. The bright Jaipur
saffron-orange cottage was for Braja and family- an emotional entrance to their new residence, and
soon the ideas for decorations, modifications, and enhancements began to appear. The views over the
pastures and ocean were partly dimmed by a cloudy, dull first dayin Fiji. After all, it is not always
beautifully sunny here…