Experience the diversity of 21st century India from the mountains to the plains.
From the expanse of the Gangetic Plains to the highest peaks of the Himalayas, our India semester offers students insight into India’s vast diversity of people, cultures, and landscapes. The program begins in Kalimpong, a town surrounded by verdant tea fields in the rolling Himalayan foothills. Students settle into homestays, spending their days learning from local teachers, businessmen, and community leaders and taking up apprenticeships with artists, musicians, healers, and cultivators. By living with and learning from communities which practice Hinduism, Tibetan Buddhism, and types of shamanism, students get deep insight into the religious practices and traditions that shape the beliefs of their hosts. Visiting Darjeeling, we engage with India’s rich and complicated past, learning about the political movements for statehood among the Nepali population that has been established there since colonial days. We also visit the Tibetan Refugee Self-Help Centre,…
From the expanse of the Gangetic Plains to the highest peaks of the Himalayas, our India semester offers students insight into India’s vast diversity of people, cultures, and landscapes. The program begins in Kalimpong, a town surrounded by verdant tea fields in the rolling Himalayan foothills. Students settle into homestays, spending their days learning from local teachers, businessmen, and community leaders and taking up apprenticeships with artists, musicians, healers, and cultivators. By living with and learning from communities which practice Hinduism, Tibetan Buddhism, and types of shamanism, students get deep insight into the religious practices and traditions that shape the beliefs of their hosts. Visiting Darjeeling, we engage with India’s rich and complicated past, learning about the political movements for statehood among the Nepali population that has been established there since colonial days. We also visit the Tibetan Refugee Self-Help Centre, which has offered refuge and livelihoods to the exiled Tibetan community since 1959.
Traveling north to the ancient Himalayan Buddhist kingdom of Sikkim, students settle into a group stay with the indigenous Lepcha community, learning about their land’s fragile ecosystem, traditional plants, farming alongside family members, going on day hikes through lush forests, and listening to folk tales in the evenings. The group embarks on a trek with majestic views of the south face of mighty Kanchenjunga, the world’s 3rd tallest peak. Off the trail, the group settles into a retreat at a local Tibetan Buddhist monastery, gaining insight into Buddhist philosophy and learning meditation techniques.
An overnight train brings us out of the mountains and into the plains. We spend two weeks in the rural town of Santiniketan, located in the heart of southern Bengal’s agricultural expanse and known for its rich culture, artistic heritage, and indigenous traditions. Venturing into the surrounding rice paddies and forests to farm and explore, we witness the community’s dependence on the land and hear first-hand how changing and weather patterns have affected harvests. We stay with Hindu and Muslim families living and practicing their religions side-by-side. Hindu festivals and daily puja punctuate the days and weeks with prayer, celebration, and song; Baul musicians strum single-stringed ektara to accompany Sufi Muslim folk songs, accompanied by harmonium and a variety of local percussion, late into the evening.
We travel south by ferry into the Sundarbans National Park, a labyrinthine mangrove forest that connects the Brahmaputra and Ganges Rivers with the Bay of Bengal. Classified as a UNESCO World Heritage site for its unique ecosystem, but heavily affected by climate change and rising sea levels, the Sundarbans offer deep insight into the themes of conservation, human ecology, and resource management. Conversations with the communities living on the fringes of the forest allow us to hear personal stories which highlight the tension between humans and nature and identify the compelling factors behind urban migration.
A visit to Kolkata, India’s colonial capital, offers a contrast and glimpse into another of India’s myriad facets. Strolling along the city’s wide-tree lined avenues and watching pick-up cricket games in the city’s expansive parks, we get a unique insight into cosmopolitan Indian life. According to the group’s interests, we will have the option to embark on a student led trip to explore places such as Varanasi, Bodhgaya, Rajasthan, or neighboring states Assam or Meghalaya. The program shifts back to the tranquility of the Himalayan foothills for its final days, offering a peaceful environment to process and reflect on the journey.
