Travel Study Outline

Field Studies India: Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Darjeeling District, Kolkata

FACULTY OF ARTS: CATH 2100 (6 credits) or SWRK 4050 (6 credits) FACULTY OF EDUCATION: EDUA 5220 & 5230 (6 credits) INTERSESSION 2008

DATES: Classes: on July 15, 16, and 17, plus Three Weeks in India (arrive Sat, July 26; leave Kolkata for further travel or home on Sun, Aug 17, 2008)

OVERVIEW

Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur (“Golden Triangle”) will be our introduction to the incredible juxtaposition of histories and cultures that is India. “New” Delhi, Edwin Lutyens’ incredible sandstone and marble celebration of British power and the contrasting simple memorial at the site of Mahatma Gandhi’s cremation, will be the foci of our study of modern India. Shah Jahan’s capital, old Delhi (along fabled Chandni Chowk, the call to prayer from the Jama Masjid mingles with the sights and sounds and smells of the spice market), and Agra’s Taj Mahal (exquisite ethereal tomb built for the love of his life), will draw us into Mughal India. As we stroll through the “Ghost City” of Fatehepur Sikri we will learn of the syncretic faith Akbar the Great cobbled together there and blended into the very architecture of the red sandstone buildings. Rajastan’s “pink city” of Jaipur, with its wondrous palaces and amazingly accurate Jantar Mantar Observatory will bring us into the world of the Rajput Maharajas.

During two weeks in North Bengal, activity will be centred, initially, in the town of Darjeeling. Nestled in the Himalayan foothills at an altitude of 7000 feet, the “Queen of the Hill Stations” is renowned for its scenery, tea gardens, hospitality, unique “Toy Train”, and incredible collection of schools. Our University’s Memorandum of Understanding with St. Joseph’s Jesuit College, gives us privileged access to the “hills”. We will come to know the remarkable people behind the 19th century imposing gothic school at North Point and the ecologically sustainable Bamboo School on a remote Tea Garden financed by former North Pointers. Behind the grey concrete exterior of Hayden Hall in the town’s bazaar, we will find a grassroots social service agency focussed on empowering women. At Jesu Ashram, we will interact with a caring staff of nurses and volunteers serving the poorest of the poor, including those with TB, Aids, and leprosy. In education, health care, and cooperative ventures of all kinds, we learn from grassroots animators as they work alongside India’s urban and rural poor in their daily struggles and efforts to control their own destinies.

At the end of an overnight train journey on the fabled Darjeeling Mail, we step out of Sealdah Station into Kolkata — Kipling’s “city of the dreadful night” as well as Dominique Lapierre’s “city of joy”. From Mother Teresa’s tomb and Home for the Dying at the Kali Temple, to life and death along the banks of the Hooghly River, Kolkata will challenge, amaze, and inspire, as no other place can. A major focus of our experience will be Loreto Day School, widely recognized in India as a model for equality-based educational change and the centre of a remarkable set of outreach programs. 300 “Rainbow” street children who call Loreto’s roof their home, scores of Barefoot Teachers, and 1100 students who become teachers themselves at age 10, offer educational and social programs that touch the lives of at least 250,000 of the poorest of the poor in Kolkata.

Everywhere, our senses, minds, and hearts will be overwhelmed! From Hindu pilgrims in their thousands along the roads to persistent beggars everywhere, from the chaotic and noisy traffic of Delhi and Kolkata to the quiet peace in a Jain Temple and the misty hill paths of Darjeeling, the timeless mystery, and incredible diversity of India awaits!

DESCRIPTION OF DAYS IN FIELD

WEEK ONE: “GOLDEN TRIANGLE”

Hotels:

Delhi July 26, 27, and 28 (Hotel Metro Heights); Agra July 29 (Howard Park Plaza);

Jaipur July 30 and 31 (Hotel Holiday Inn); Delhi August 1 (Hotel Metro Heights)Travel: by AC coach; Delhi – Agra – Jaipur – Delhi

Old & New Delhi: Adjusting to realities of India while learning about

(a) Old Delhi (Mogul Emperor Shah Jahan’s Capitol)

* the Jama Masjid (Universal Mosque), said to be India’s largest; can accommodate 20,000 people for prayers

* the Red Fort, 17th century fortifications and palaces (we do not go inside as we will visit the better preserved Red Fort in Agra

* cycle rickshaws along the fabled Chandni Chowk (Silver Street) and through the spice market, Gold/Silversmith market etc.

* Sisganj Gurudwara (on the spot where the 9th Sikh guru was beheaded); introduction to Sikhism; visit to prayer hall and kitchen facilities preparing “langar”

* Emperor Humayun’s Tomb (16th century; model for later Mogul Monuments, including Taj Mahal)

(b) British Raj (Rule)

* Edwin Lutyen’s “New” city; symbol of British power and supremacy (700 million bricks, 100,000 cubic feet of marble), inaugurated in 1931 — Connaught Place, Raj Path, India Gate (42 m high), Parliament House, Government Secretariats, and Presidential Palace (Rashtrapati Bhawan).

(c) Other

* Raj Ghat (Mahatma Gandhi’s Memorial) on the bank of the Yamuna River; Gandhi Museum, Salt Protest Memorial

* Qutab Minar (70 m victory tower of Qutub-ud-Din Aibek in 1199); a UNESCO World Heritage Monument

* Jantar Mantar (observatory built by the Rajput King Sawai Jai Singh II in 1724 (we will go inside the larger, better preserved, observatory in Jaipur!)

* world renowned “Lotus Temple” (Baha’i Faith)

* Hanuman (“Monkey”) Temple (Connaught Place)

* Sikh Gurdwara Bangla Sahib (18th century centre of pilgrimage; visited by thousands of people of different religions and castes every day)

* Lakshminarayan Temple; modern (1938) Hindu Temple, dedicated to Vishnu and Lakshmi

Agra & Fatehpur Sikri: Guided visits to two World Heritage Sites:

* 135 km south of Delhi — Mathura (where Krishna was born) and Vrindavana (where he spend his childhood) are 135km south of Delhi and among the most important places of pilgrimage for his devotees. There are 5,000 + temples in Vrindavana (if we don’t run into problems along the way, we will stop here)

* 10 km from Agra — Sikandra, red sandstone and white marble Mausoleum of Akbar the Great (blend of Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist, Jain and Christian Motifs and styles — much like the syncretic religious philosophy he developed).

(a) Agra

* Agra Fort

* drive through the, still recognizable, British Cantonment area (In India, a permanent military installation and supports; our “army base”)

* visit the Taj Mahal by Sunset, one of the “Wonders of the World”

(b) Fatehpur Sikri (“Ghost City”) former capital of Mughal Emperor Akbar (home of his experiment in universal religion); Mosque

Jaipur “Pink City” of the Maharajas (Rajputs) Observatory

* excursion to the Amber Fort (ascend the hill on an elephant).

* Jaipur city; including City Palace of the Jaipur Maharaja, the honey-comb designed Hawa Mahal (Palace of Winds) and the amazingly accurate Jantar Mantar stone Observatory.

WEEK TWO: DARJEELING DISTRICT

August 2: Delhi - Bagdogra (9W 601, Dep. at 1010 – Arr. At 1405 Hours)We spend seven nights in the Darjeeling District (plains & hills) — Krishna Apartments, Darjeeling (convenient to North Point and Darjeeling town). One week of classes, excursions, and “hands on” experience (large Tibetan Buddhist presence in area; tribal peoples, various social service agencies, tea garden, etc.).

St. Joseph’s School, North Point (classes 3-12) — St. Joseph’s College — Tibetan Refugee Centre — Zoo & Himalayan Mountaineering Institute — Tea Industry & visit to Garden (Lalit Tirkey, S.J. and Mr. Harish Mukhia) — Hayden Hall with Fr. Patrick & Noreen Dunne — visit to Hemlata Memorial Society with Rita Ghosh — “Toy Train”[UNESCO World Heritage Monument] to Ghoom Loop, Gurka Memorial, etc. with Upendra Pradhan — EcoTourism with Dr. Milindo Chetraborty (Director of Centre for Studies in Rural Economy, Appropriate Technology and Environment (CREATE) at St. Joseph's College — Mr C. B. Rai, former Principal of St. Joseph’s College, and expert on political developments in the Hills (an “autonomous” region in December 2005) — Peace Pagoda — Observatory Hill and Mahakal Hindu Temple — Dali (Drukpa Kargyud) Monastery, home of the 12th Drukchen Rimpoche and 200 + Buddhist monks — Tiger Hill (8500 feet, to see the sun rise?) — Cricket Match (?) —

All Day Trips: 1. to Kalimpong to visit Gandhi Ashram (school for children of “forest dwellers” with innovative violin program), Homeopathic Clinic, and unusual “Bamboo School” at Mongpu tea garden 2. to Jesu Ashram (hospital for the destitute: TB patients, lepers, AIDS, etc.) in Matigara on the plains, School for children of the “rock breakers”, Gayaganga (oldest Jesuit mission on the plains (terai), St. Alphonsus School, Kurseong

New Jalpaiguri – Kolkata on Darjeeling Mail, overnight 2nd class sleeper to Kolkata (8:00 pm on August 9)

WEEK THREE: KOLKATA

Arriving at Sealdah Railway Station, walk over to Loreto day School Sealdah for breakfast and orientation to Kolkata by Sr. Cyril Mooney. Later to Hotel House 43 (home for 7 nights) in the heart of the “City of Joy.”

Visits to some/ or all of the following:

(a) Days of the Raj: Dalhousie Square & Writers Building (centre of British India administration until 1911), Victoria Memorial, Fort William, Ochterlony Monument (Shahid Minar, a 48 metre column tower), Raj Bhawan, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Maidan, St. James Church (consecrated, 1836) & “black hole” monument, Hooghley River, Howrah Bridge (busiest in world), Botanical Gardens (largest banyan tree), Marble Palace (1835 private mansion), Indian Museum, etc.

(b) Rabindranath Tagore’s birth place (Jorasako), Parsee Temple, Ramkrishna Mission International Headquarters, Jain Temple and neighbourhood of the potters, Dakshineswar Kali Temple Complex, Mother Teresa’s Home for the Destitute and Dying (Kali Temple), MC Mother House and Mother Teresa’s Tomb, Loreto Day School Sealdah, St. Xavier’s College & outreach, etc.

Sunday August 17, Kolkata–Delhi–Home Assistance at hotel and transfer to airport to board flight for Delhi. Assistance and transfer to International airport to board flight for Toronto.