Visionary Women of Secret Retreats: Husna-Tara Prakash
The Story of Glenburn
In celebration of International Women’s Day, we continue our series honouring the visionary women behind the properties of Secret Retreats. Across Asia, these women are shaping hospitality with creativity, care for their communities, and a deep respect for place.
Among them is Husna-Tara Prakash, the driving force behind two remarkable experiences in India: Glenburn Tea Estate in the Himalayan foothills near Darjeeling and The Glenburn Penthouse in the historic heart of Kolkata. Through both properties, she has quietly crafted a distinctive form of hospitality—one that combines heritage, storytelling, and a strong connection to the surrounding community.
A Journey into the World of Tea
Husna-Tara Prakash did not originally set out to become a hotelier. Born in England and educated in both the UK and India, she studied natural sciences at Cambridge and initially trained as a teacher. Life took an unexpected turn when she met her future husband, Anshuman Prakash, whose family has long been involved in India’s tea industry.
After moving to India in the late 1990s, she became immersed in the world of tea plantations. When the Prakash family acquired Glenburn Tea Estate near Darjeeling in 2001, she saw an opportunity not just to cultivate tea but to create a unique hospitality experience that would allow visitors to truly understand life on a tea estate.
At the time, the estate had an ageing planter’s bungalow with only a few rooms. Rather than building a large resort, Husna-Tara chose a slower, more intimate approach: restoring the historic house and opening it as a small boutique retreat.
The result was Glenburn Tea Estate, which opened in 2002 with just four rooms in the lovingly restored Burra Bungalow. Over time, additional suites were added, but the property remained intentionally small—preserving the feeling of being welcomed into a private home overlooking the tea gardens and the distant peaks of Kanchenjunga.
A Tea Estate That Feels Like Home
Spread across more than 1,600 acres of tea gardens, forests, and rivers, Glenburn offers far more than simply a place to stay. Guests can walk through tea plantations, learn how leaves are harvested and processed, explore nearby villages, and enjoy meals prepared with ingredients sourced locally or grown on the estate itself.
For Husna-Tara, the philosophy has always been about creating an immersive experience rather than a conventional hotel stay. Tea is at the heart of the estate, but so too are the landscapes and the people who call this region home.
Her commitment to the community is central to the estate’s success. The property employs local staff and supports education programmes and scholarships for children living on the estate, helping ensure that tourism benefits the wider community as well as visitors. ()
Bringing the Glenburn Spirit to Kolkata
As Glenburn’s reputation grew, many guests arriving at the estate began asking about Kolkata—the historic city that once served as the gateway to the tea districts of eastern India.
Intrigued by their curiosity, Husna-Tara began researching the city’s rich heritage and eventually started offering curated cultural tours. These explorations of Kolkata’s architecture and history became so popular that they inspired her next project.
The idea was simple yet ambitious: to create a small urban retreat that would capture the elegance and storytelling spirit of Glenburn, but in the heart of the city.
The result was The Glenburn Penthouse, a boutique hotel and dining space overlooking Kolkata’s iconic skyline. Transforming the space was no easy task—the building had originally been designed as an office, not a hotel—and it took nearly seven years to complete the project. ()
When it finally opened in 2018, the Penthouse offered guests a rare vantage point over the city, with views stretching from the Victoria Memorial to the Maidan and beyond. Like the tea estate in Darjeeling, it blends refined hospitality with a strong sense of place.
Hospitality with Heart
Despite having no formal background in hospitality when she began, Husna-Tara Prakash has built Glenburn into one of India’s most admired boutique experiences. The estate has received numerous accolades and has been recognised internationally as one of the world’s finest small hotels. ()
Yet what makes Glenburn truly special is not only its setting or reputation. It is the spirit behind it: a vision of hospitality that values authenticity, community, and a deep connection to the landscape.
Whether overlooking the emerald hills of Darjeeling or watching the sunset over Kolkata from the Penthouse terrace, guests encounter a story shaped by one woman’s dedication to preserving heritage while welcoming the world.
Through Glenburn, Husna-Tara Prakash reminds us that the most memorable journeys are not defined by luxury alone, but by the stories, cultures, and communities that give a place its soul.
