Temples & Wells

The ITSA interns took a tour of some sights around Ahmedabad; we went to the Sun Temple, the Step wells, a replica of a famous temple, and the Gurudwara. It was amazing to think of how old all the landmarks are. India is one of the oldest cultures in the world, yet I know so little about it. I need to learn more!

There were some beautiful carvings in and around the temple, depicting various scenes. I find it fascinating that there are over 3 million gods in Hinduism, and that the same 3 million gods are still a part of the Hinduism today. 

I think that of all the places that we saw  that day, The Sun Temple was my favorite. It still amazes me that something that old could exist, but kind of in the middle of nowhere. It is centuries older than the entirety of the United States! It puts history into a very different perspective. To see how much has changed from the original culture in India, while in America is seems like it is stuck in the past sometimes. Some of the carved scenes showed how revered women were in Hinduism, because they were the ones who birthed the children. Now, India is known for being dangerous for women. Where did that change happen? I guess that if a culture is around for a long time, there is more room for it to change. Change is necessary, but how does a culture become more conservative than how it started out?

The Step Wells were also very beautiful. It was not what I was expected. I thought there would just be a few wells, with a simple temple around it. I did not think that the temples would be built down into the ground. They are five stories deep!

We didn’t have a tour guide for the Step Wells, so I had to do my own research when I got back to the ITSA flat. I found that even though the wells are very beautiful, they were used for somewhat ordinary purposes. People went there to bathe, drink, and wash clothes; they also held rituals there.

There is also a legend attached to the Stepwells. A Hindu king, Rana Veer Singh, was attacked, and killed by a Muslim king, Mohammed Begda. The Muslim king took over his territory. He wanted to marry the Hindu king’s beautiful wife, Rani Roopba, so he proposed. She agreed to marry him, but only if he would finish building the Stepwell. He agreed, and finished it. He reminded the queen of her promise, but because Rani considered her goal completed, which was to finish her husband’s Stepwell, she drowned herself in the well. Tragic, like all legends seem to be. 

After this, we went back home and even fit in some work later in the day. Workshops are still being made, we can't believe that there are only 2 weeks left of workshops! 

Exploring Ahmedabad

On our day off, the interns decided to explore the city of Ahmedabad a little bit more. There are so many malls in Ahmedabad! And while it can be interesting to spend time in a foreign mall, we were a bit tired of them. We wanted to see the real Ahmedabad. A new addition to the ITSA library, 101 Ways to Experience Ahmedabad, gave us some good ideas on where to go and what to do.

First, we started off at Hansiba, the SEWA Co-op Shop. The shop was named after the oldest SEWA artisan. Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) is an organization based in Ahmedabad, which has helped women from surrounding districts get their wares sold. The store was filled with so many beautiful things! The pillow cases, the figurines, scarves, and clothes. It was hard to choose only a few things to buy for gifts! Sixty five percent of the profits of the store go to supporting the artists who made the artwork. We were all glad that we could positively contribute back to the artists.

Next stop was Gramshree, which we found all on our own! It was within walking distance, so we decided go for it. For those who don’t know, Ahmedabad is not a pedestrian city. Most of our transportation takes place in auto-rickshaws. Also, addresses are pretty difficult to find when you don’t know where you are going. There is no numbered system like in the States, and most addresses consist of nearby landmarks, like “near ISCON mall” and that’s it. Once you get to the landmark, you have to find the destination on your own. The address that we were trying to find was 4^th floor, Shopper’s Plaza, opposite Municipial Market, Vastrapur. But we found it, with the help of some people along the way.

Once we got there, we were pleasantly surprised again! It was a lovely store, with some really beautiful clothing. All of the profits went to Gramshee, which is a non-profit organization aiming to empower rural and slum dwelling women. , After the store, we went to a Havmur, right across the street. Most of us got to taste yet another Havmur flavor, Litchee Strawberry! We are on our way to tasting all of the flavors!  

 All in all, it was a great shopping day, with all of our money going towards good causes. 

Opening Ceremony!

A few days ago, it was the opening ceremony! It was so amazing, it was such a great turnout! In the end, we had over 100 students combined in all of the workshops!

First, we started with everyone signing in, and receiving a folder with two worksheets, a notebook, and a pen. Then the parents and the students were separated into two different groups, with the parents going to the auditorium, and the kids beginning their first ITSA workshops. 

While the parents were listening to a great speech that Riana gave, the new ITSApreneurs were getting to know each other in their workshop groups. There are three groups; Sustainable Development, Economic Inequality, and Intersectionality & Access. They did various activities that introduced them to certain social issues, and allowed the workshop leaders to see which topics concerned the students the most.

There was a great speaker at the parent’s presentation, David Udry. He is the principal of the first school that ITSA ever worked with. He said some really great things about how ITSA teaches the 4 things that are crucial to education—critical thinking, creativity, community, and communication. I completely agree with him; those aspects are intertwined with ITSA’s core curriculum. He gave a great talk, and was clearly very excited that ITSA was still alive and running.

After the parent’s presentation, I was able to go in and sit in on a couple of the workshops that were happening. While the classrooms were pretty packed, it was great to see that so many students were interested in what ITSA has to offer. In some of the small group discussions that I heard, even when there wasn’t a facilitator nearby, the students were still avidly discussing problems and possible solutions. I think that’s the most accurate measure of how attentive students are!

After the workshops, all the students came together in the amphitheater of Anand Niketan Satellite, which is a beautiful campus. We took group and class photos, which all turned out great!

This year is going to be so great! Welcome to the ITSA family everyone!

Rain & Cricket

It’s RAINING!! Finally!!

For the first time in two weeks, the rain is coming down. Last night, at around 10:30, when all the interns were just sitting around in their pajamas, we heard the pitter patter on the roof. We ran outside to celebrate!

It was so freeing to be out in the rain, to just feel it on my face. It rarely rains like this in the city, with the rain just pouring down for more than a few hours. My favorite kind of rain is the summer rain. We were all a bit stir crazy from being inside all day, and working on curriculum. I think all the other interns felt the same. We had a little dance party outside, to let off some steam. It’s been crazy hot here, and pretty dusty. Now that the rain has come, things can cool off, and the air can be clearer.

We also played our first cricket game! Shuklaji, the security guard at Anand Niketan Bodakdev, taught us to play! There is a pretty big language barrier between Shuklaji and us. He speaks very little English, and we speak barely any Hindi. But with the help of Apurva, we were able to learn! Highlights of the game include three 6 hits in a row, and Shuklaji hitting the ball all the way over the school building. We were all laughing at Shukalji’s antics on how we were doing in the game.

“Good six!”, he would yell when one of us hit the ball out of the boundary line. (For those of you that may not be familiar with cricket, when the hitter hits the ball out of the boundary line without it touching the ground within the boundary, it is worth 6 points). He would dive to catch the ball, and try to teach us the correct batting stance. We all appreciate that he is trying to connect with us on a real level, and not just be the anonymous security guard.

The workshop leaders are still preparing for the opening ceremony on tomorrow. We still can't believe that they are starting tomorrow!