I traveled 22 miles from Bangalore northwest to Shreyas, a yoga retreat started in 2004. It was a stressful 1 1/2 -hour drive (even though I had borrowed my cousin's driver), during which we had several near-collisions on a garbage-strewn road jammed with people, trucks, rickshaws and cars.

Maybe it was the journey that made my arrival at Shreyas feel so welcoming. Inside the gates, coconut trees rustled in the breeze. It was quiet enough to hear bird song.

Two men clad in white kurtas and loose pants greeted me at the entrance. One placed a garland of flowers around my neck; the other handed me a cool, wet washcloth to clean off the road grime.

Shreyas, owned by a widely traveled financier, Pawan Malik, is an artful melding of Indian and international, spiritual and high-tech. Vegetables, herbs and flowers are grown on the 25-acre property, and the cuisine is vegetarian, wholesome (no alcoholic drinks) and innovative.

Soon after my arrival, the manager asked whether I had any health issues or dietary needs. I am diabetic, so my meals, which were delicious, included a mushroom soup without cream, a spinach curry with baby corn, chapatis made without oil and a salad of sprouted mung beans.

Its dozen rooms and cabin-tents have broadband Internet connections but no TV. (For the desperate, there's a room where you can watch DVDs.) The area by the lap pool has wireless Internet access; I was offered use of a laptop if I wanted to check my e-mail.

Shreyas had an almost religious attention to detail in service and decoration. After dinner, an employee led the way to my cabin-tent by flashlight. A granite basin filled with floating chrysanthemums and marigolds occupied a corner of the courtyard of my room. Rose petals were strewn across my candle-lighted dinner table.

The landscaping on the former coconut farm included artfully placed statues of Hindu gods. Temple-like granite columns framed passageways at the main building. A library held volumes by Deepak Chopra, Kahlil Gibran and Paramahansa Yogananda.

Shreyas "is run like an ashram, without delving into religion," said Malik, who used to live in Japan. "I was influenced by Zen retreats we used to go to. We don't have anything like that here."

From his travels abroad, he also developed a more egalitarian outlook toward his staff. Members of the staff joined me in the twice-daily yoga classes, and I lunched with manager Rucha Sukhramani. I could have helped them tend the farm, if I'd had the energy.

GETTING THERE:

From LAX, Lufthansa, British and Air India have connecting flights to Bangalore, India (with change of plane). Restricted round-trip fares begin at $1,172 until June 15, increasing to $1,536 until July 4.

TELEPHONES:

To call the numbers below from the U.S., dial 011 (the international dialing code), 91 (country code for India), 80 (Bangalore's area code) and the local number.

WHERE TO STAY:

Shreyas, Santoshima Farm, Gollahalli, Byrashetty Village, Nelamangala, Bangalore; 2773-7102 or 2773-7103, http://www.shreyasretreat.com . India chic; stylish yoga retreat on outskirts of urban Bangalore. A great place to recover from the punishing flight, but beware the train (and its piercing whistle) that runs behind the property. Doubles from $200.

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