New Delhi, Aug. 9 -- On most Friday evenings, Senthil Kumar Hariram, 40, adopts a version of the life that he has consciously built as a response to the one he was living. "I live and work in Bengaluru. The pace is constant, the noise never switches off, and over time, you start functioning more on momentum than intention," says the founder of FTA Global, a search engineering company.

He realised he needed a space to recalibrate, not necessarily escape. "I didn't want a vacation spot. I wanted a different way of living for a few days every week, something that changes how I exist," he says, explaining why he invested in a second home in Vellore, Tamil Nadu, where he spends weekends farming.

Second homes are increasingly being used to re...