All work and no play? No Way. Becoming fast friends touring Northern India.
Our India 42 team was packed full of enthusiasm, brains, and strong and very entertaining personalities. After the first week, it felt like we had known each for months. This has been one of the best parts of the Corporate Service Corps (CSC) experience. Exploring India together and leaving the country with friendships I know will last a lifetime. We learned from each other, we lifted each other up, we challenged each other, we explored and embraced a new culture together, we danced, we cried, we laughed.
During our first few days in country, a few weekend trips were planned with the help of our implementation partner, IBM Security and most importantly a few key team members who took the reins and organized all the details. A big thank you to Carolyn Marsh Kathleen Prince-Sayward Ellen Bellino and Doreen for spearheading our trips! They organized transportation, hotels and tours for us to explore the different sides of India.
Our first weekend trip was to Dharamshala located at the foothills of the Himalayas in Northeast India. 18 of us packed onto a bus and made the 6+ hour trip each way through the windy back roads of India … it was all part of the adventure! As we traveled through each village, we again saw the two worlds in India.
Dharamshala is said to be little Tibet and is the home of the Dali Lama in India. As a group we wandered around the Dali Lama’s monastery and took a small hike up to a waterfall. It was a colorful hill station town and reminded me exactly of Tibet which I visited after studying abroad in China. It was a neat feeling thinking we were still India.
Kevin McAveeney and I also ventured off to an art museum, the Indian-Pakistan war memorial and what is said to be one of the best cricket stadiums.
Our time at the cricket stadium intrigued us and later in the week our team hit up the cricket batting cages. I even ended up buying Nolan a little cricket bat for when he’s a bit older.
During our second weekend in country most of the team headed to Shimla, another hill station town but I stayed back in Chandigarh with a few others to get re-centered. It was much needed weekend to recharge as we had been on the go for 2+ weeks and I was exhausted (why did I think I would get sleep going on CSC!?). Kerry Hecker and I ventured out and explored the local market, hit up a few book stores and I started my gift shopping for family and friends. The market was quite the place, filled with sounds and energy of the locals doing their Saturday shopping.
On the third weekend, our entire team ventured out again to explore more in Punjab, this time by train taking a 5 hour ride to the Golden Temple. “Sri Harmandir Sahib” translated to the Golden Temple is located in Amritsar, near the Pakistan border, and is the most sacred temple for the Sikh religion. Check out my earlier blog where I explained more about this religion.
The temple is surrounded by a sacred pool and a group of buildings important to the Sikh religion. We all took off our shoes and washed our feet while treading through the pool before entering … this is what we saw walking in.
The temple symbolizes the magnificence and strength of Sikhs all over the world. It is incredibly impressive, with the dome gilded with over 1,653 lbs of pure gold. It’s not a large temple, but it is stunning and you are immediately filled with spirituality.
All religions were welcomed and we spent the afternoon taking it in together. If you ever travel to India, I would highly recommend making your way up north to Amritsar to see this beautiful place.
Time spent in India has an extraordinary effect on one. It acts as a barrier that makes the rest of the world seem unreal. — Tahir Shah
