In Hinduism, the Puruṣārtha are the four goals of life: moral values / righteousness (Dharma); love, psychological values (Kama); economic values / prosperity (Artha) and spiritual values / liberation (Moksha), and it is the last of these concepts Effy Nova has used for the name of her public Homestead region.
It’s a place I was first alerted to Effy’s Moksha by Shawn Shakespeare (SkinnyNilla) back in May, but have only recently had the opportunity to give it due attention to write about. It takes the broadest meaning of the Hindu term, emancipation, enlightenment and liberation, free from its more religious connotations, to define her region as a place of blissful escape: a place where we can be freed from the worries and demands of daily life and simply relax and enjoy.
Set as a tropical island, Moksha blends within itself an interesting mix of ideas and themes. The region’s name, the presence of little elephants dressed as might be seen within the Indian sub-continent and a stone carved bust of Shiva, suggest this might be a small island retreat somewhere off the coast of India (or perhaps Sri Lanka); however, the presence of tuka huts in the shallows gives the setting a hint of the Philippines.
Not that there is necessarily a contradiction here; whilst in the minority, the Philippines does have a small Hindu population, while the market boats floating alongside the over-the-water boardwalks suggest both India and the Philippines, thus making the composition of the region an engaging mix of influences which sit well together.
In terms of its design, the setting might be seen as the remnants of a long-dead and flooded volcanic cone, the crater now given over to a semi-sheltered seawater lagoon, open to the broader ocean on one side, the southern an eastern flanks of the cone withstanding the erosion of sea and windswept salt air to remain as two fairly substantial islands. To the west and south, the crater perhaps hasn’t faired so well, the rock having been largely worn down to sand bars and sea-flattened rocks helping to protect the entrance to the lagoon – all with the exception of one stubborn thumb of rock pointing skywards.
It is on one of the sandbars that the region’s landing point is located. It sits in front of one of the boardwalks extending out over the waters of the lagoon, a footpath offering a route to the five tuka huts as they sit on their stilts over the calm waters as they sit towards the eastern end of the lagoon and the smaller of the two main islands.
The lagoonside foot of this island offers a further sandy beach; the volcanic rock rising behind it protecting it from the weather, the fertile soil of the steep slopes offering a richness in which monkeypod and palm trees can find growth. The ribbon of beach is home to a little gathering of beach-side business shacks offering food and refreshments, an over-the-water deck offering plenty of room to sit and eat / drink. In a further touch of Hindu influences, Ganesh is available within one of the shacks, which has been turned into an air-conditioned shrine.
The sandbar on which the landing point sits runs back to the largest of the islands as it forms a tall, steep-sided spine of rock. Once again the soil here is rich and deep enough to allow a good growth of palm, monkeypod and honey trees. A single gravel path runs up the slope from the beach to where a house sits among the trees to overlook the bay. Built largely of bamboo, it is a place which looks as if it would feel as much at home in Bali as here.
Lying below this on the south side of the island is a smaller outcrop of rock sitting just off-shore and a small headland of sand reached via a gravel path running down from the bamboo house. With little boats moored in the channel between the large and small island, the southern headland is home to a quiet retreat where singles and couples can pass the time.
Life is given to the setting through the use of static NPCs. From a couple catching the sun on a diving raft through a mother putting a protective towel around her daughter after a swim,to people perusing the shrine and beach shacks, these characters help give a sense that this is a holiday retreat, some of them perhaps having been brought to the islands by the catamaran moored just off the western beach.
Engaging and photogenic – those requiring props can join the local group for rezzing rights – Moksha is an easy-on-the-eyes visit.
SLurl Details
- Moksha (Simply Heaven, rated Moderate)
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld