JJC India OELP 2009

Gurudwara Bangla Sahib Sikh Temple

2009-12-31T07:38:00.000-08:00

We were brought into a room where each of us had to put on a headscarf in respect for the religion and the temple.

The praying hall:

The temple provides free vegetarian food to everybody. The people who were there looked happy and healthy and they probably come as spiritual members of the community. But in a city that is rapidly growing (current number: 13 million), an open, organized, clean and reliable free food source couldn't be more valuable.

The dining area:

We saw a wedding on the streets while on the way to dinner.

Moti Masjid (Pearl Mosque)

2009-12-31T07:16:00.000-08:00

We walked from the Red Fort with Moti Masjid as our destination. We braced through the chaotic streets and allies and it was definitely an unforgettable experience! The adrenaline rush, the honks, the sense of urgency, the yelling. It was like a re-enactment of Rush Hour. But it's a pity we reached the mosque a little too late and they only allowed us to view the mosque from the outside.

Nonetheless, here are some pictures for you to enjoy!

The streets:

Upon reaching the mosque:

The long flight of stairs up:

The entrance of the mosque:

On the streets while walking to the Gurdwara Bangla Sahib Sikh Temple (next post)...

Red Fort (Day)

2009-12-31T06:56:00.000-08:00

This is a continuation of the post on Red Fort (Night), which you all might have read earlier on. But this post will be focused on Red Fort in the day.

Outside the Red Fort:

Walking into the Red Fort:

The shops in the fort:

Exploring the fort:

The place where we sat during the Sound and Light show at night:

Stay tuned for the next post :)

Lotus Temple

2009-12-31T06:41:00.000-08:00

The Lotus Temple is a Bahai House of Worship and also a prominent attraction in Delhi. It was completed in 1986 and it's name is derived from the flowerlike architecture of the temple. The Temple is open to all, regardless of religion. There are a total of 9 sparkling ponds surrounding it.

Inside the Lotus Temple (photo from Flickr):

The hall is a good and conducive place for people to meditate and pray. Photography and footwear is not allowed in the hall and silence is to be maintained at all times.

5th to 8th (Lectures)

2009-12-31T05:58:00.000-08:00

On the 5th to 8th day, we would attend lecture sessions everyday at Jawaharlal Nehru University from morning till afternoon. Here's a scope of what we learnt during the various sessions and some background information on the different speakers.

1) Prof. Manoj Pant (Graduate from St. Stephen's College, Delhi University. Completed MA from Delhi School of Economics in 1975 and his Ph.D from the Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas, USA n 1982)

Topic covered: India's Development Policies since Independence

2) Prof. B. B. Bhattacharya (MA in Economics from the University of Allahabad in 1966 with 1st position in order of Merir and obtained Ph. D. in Economics from Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi in 1971)

Topic covered: India's Economy

3) Prof. Amitabh Mattoo (Early education in Burn Hall School, Srinagar and the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. D. Phil in International Relations from the University of Oxford, United Kingdom)

Topic covered: India and it's World Relations

4) Prof. Partha S. Ghosh (Prof. of South Asian Studies at the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi)

Topic covered: South Asian politics, ethnicity and domestic politics-foreign policy interface

5) Prof. Pushpesh K. Pant (32 years of teaching experience at Delhi University and Jawaharlal Nehru University. Served on Court of JNU as well as on the Executive and Academic Councils)

Topic covered: Diplomatic studies, international politics, organization and disarmament

6) Dr. Arvind Sinha (Associate Proffessor at the Centre of Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University. Represented Delhi University in 2004 in an European Union project to work on French sources on Indian textiles and was awarded Fellowship in 2005 by Nehru Memorial Museum and Library)

Topic covered: The Making of Modern India

7) Prof. Kamal Mitra Chenov (In-charge of School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University. Member, Indian Council of Social Science Research; Member, Executive Council, Jawaharlal Nehru University)

Topic covered: Nationalism, Radicalism and Democracy

8) Dr. Siddharth Mallavarapu (Assistant Professor at the Centre of International Politics, Organization and Disarmament (CIPOD) at the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University)

Topic covered: Democratization and Governance

9) A representative from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation also came to speak to us on the foundation which started in 1993. It focuses on Global Health, Global Development and US Education initiatives. The foundation controls over a billion dollars and it's main role is to fund works.

We feel very honoured to be able to listen to these distinguished and prominent speakers speak. We have definitely reaped a whole lot of new knowledge during the lectures and it has helped to fetch our way of thinking to greater heights.

Day 4 - Red Fort (Night)

2009-12-28T00:46:00.000-08:00

After our trip to Udayan Care Centre, we proceeded on to visit the Red Fort for their daily scheduled Sound and Light Show.

During the show...

The show is a dramatic interplay of various sound and light effects and it re-enacts the history of the Red Fort - a symbol of Mughal power. The storytelling (in English) that accompanied the show was very informative as well. We enjoyed the show very much but the duration's a little too long. It's an hour. Well, worth the ticket price! Hahahaha!

Day 4 - Udayan Care Centre

2009-12-17T01:35:00.000-08:00

Day 4: We went to Udayan Care Centre! You can find out more about them here and here.

We had already planned an array of activities such as ice-breaking games, photo frame making competition, clay sculpturing competition and Frisbee games beforehand. We bought what we needed (paint, frames, stickers etc) from Singapore and brought it over the seas to India. :)

We were ushered into a room where the person-in-charge gave us a detailed presentation on Udayan Care. After the presentation ended, two of our students, Isaac and Si Ling gave a presentation about Singapore to the people of Udayan.

After that, we went down to the spacious backyard and started on our icebreaker games which were Cling Cling, Wacko and the Friendship Dance.

Wacko:

Cling Cling:

Friendship Dance:

Our students instructing on how to execute the dance moves

Then, the real action began!

We proceeded on to the photo frame making competition! They broke up into smaller groups then we gave out plain wooden photo frames, plates of colourful paint, foam stickers and glitter glue. Our students joined in the fun as well!

'Artists' at work:

Mr Wangyal spraying lacquer on the freshly painted photo frames:

The final products!!!

While waiting for the photo frames to dry, we went upstairs to have our lunch which was hosted by Udayan Care.

Outside the lunch area:

After satisfying our tummies, we went back down for the prize presentation of the photo frame making competition!

The winners receiving their prizes:

Our students giving out candies to all the participants:

Right after the photo frame prize presentation, comes the clay-sculpting competition!! Again, the girls, along with our students, are being divided into small groups and they will work together and decide on how/what to make with the colourful paper clay given to them. This encourages teamwork and harmonious bonding among the group :)

Groups @ Work:

*knead, roll, paint, paint, roll, knead!*

and finally.... here comes the finished products!

All the time when we were at work, there're 2 ladies at the lobby area serving us hot tea/coffee and deep-fried samosas which tasted really good, albeit a little big! One serving can be shared among 2 or 3 girls.

No doubt that good times always pass fast and it was time for us to leave. Hence, we didn't have enough time for our Frisbee game. We cleaned the area and placed all the materials, gifts and Frisbee into plastic bags before giving it to the person-in-charge to keep for the Centre's usage.

Mr Wangyal presenting a souvenir to the person-in-charge:

A group photo taken together marked a beautiful ending to our visit.

Remember the good times we all have together because time and reality is moving fast and the reality is some of us will never see each other again and some will...but even though we'll all change, we'll all remember the times we had together and all the times we said.

Attention!

2009-12-16T21:55:00.001-08:00

Please scroll down to Day 3 to view the latest post on the Taj Mahal :)

Smiles Foundation

2009-12-03T07:22:00.000-08:00

Day 2

We went to Smiles Foundation! The Foundation is formed in 2002 and is targeted at providing both education and health to underprivileged children in India. You can click here to find out more about them.

We were warmly welcomed by the children and the teachers-in-charge of the Foundation. We started off with a tour around the school. There are pretty handicrafts such as pottery pieces, photo frames and folders for sale which are all hand-made by the students! After the tour, we played the Bingo game which was organized by the school. We had so much fun during the game and it was a tie between Anthea and a boy from their school! Exciting match. We continued to play different games such as The Germ-Spreading Game and Pepsi-Cola which didn't fail to generate laughter and excitement among the children. Of course, prizes were given out to those who won the games. :) The games lasted for quite a while and the children then went back down to receive their Happy Meal tea-time snack which consisted of a vegetarian burger, a bottle of chilled Coke and a toy! The vegetarian burger tastes good and you don't get them in Singapore.

A few of our students demonstrated on the correct ways of hand-washing and tooth-brushing and we gave them hand soaps, toothbrushes and toothpastes which main aim is to encourage the children to maintain good oral and basic hygiene.

We were presented with a skit by the boys that highlighted the fact that religion should not be an issue among the people in India. After which, a colourful and vibrant dance was presented to us by the girls. We students joined them in the dance later!

When the time came for us to leave, we were most reluctant to leave. The children bade goodbye to us non-stop and said that they hope to see us here again. These comments warmed our hearts. :) We had a great and unforgettable time there! Will definitely miss the children there.

Agra Fort and Taj Mahal (Day 3)

2009-11-25T09:04:00.000-08:00

We went to Agra Fort and the Taj Mahal which is located at Agra on the 3rd day of our trip. The bus journey to Agra took us 4 hours but it was definitely worth it to see the Agra Fort and the magnificent Taj Mahal which is just about 2.5km North-West away from each other.

Agra Fort

The Agra Fort is the most important fort in India and the great Mughals once lived here and they governed the country from here. It contained the state's largest treasury and mint and was visited by people of the highest dignitaries who participated in the creation of India's history.

The building is exquisitely carved with designs containing intricate details.We were all awed by how skills of the craftsmen in the past were even though they had a lack of technology.

(to be continued)

We procceded on to visit the Taj Mahal (meaning "Crown Palace") after leaving the Agra Fort. We had to queue in order to enter the palace and the queue was going really slowly because only there are only 2 guards (one female, one male) and the queues were horribly long, especially the girls queue. After we manage to get in, we walked a short distance before reaching the palace. The view was astonishing. We took a group photo together at the garden in front of the palace before breaking up into our own groups, to venture and discover the palace.

Footwear is not allowed on the palace grounds. We can either choose to wear a shoe cover or walk on it barefooted! We chose to walk on it barefooted so that we can feel the coolness of the white marble slab that the palace was entirely made of. We had to queue up from one side of the palace to the other side to get a chance to step foot into the palace to see the tomb of Mumtaz Mahal.

Mumtaz Mahal means "beloved ornament of the palace" and she was the wife of Prince Kurram (who was later known as Shah Jahan). They shared an intense and affectionate relationship before Mumtaz Mahal passed away while giving birth to their 14th child.The Taj Mahal was constructed over 22 years with the work of 20,000 men, costing 32 million Rupees.

Today, the Taj Mahal stands as the ultimate momentum to love, and a homage to her life and beauty.

The palace also faces the beautiful and peaceful Yamuna river, which is linked to the sacred river Ganges and meanders through Agra, passing many Mughal sites of special interest. The river provides a gorgeous backdrop which gives the illusion of a floating tomb which is an idea brought across by the water in the Taj Mahal garden.

All of us feel very honoured to be able to visit such a meaningful and historical momentum which is also one of the world's 7 wonders.

4 more days!

2009-11-15T06:43:00.001-08:00

Hello!!! It's been a while since this blog has been updated. We will be leaving in 4 days time.

Have you started packing??? Plz remember to bring lifesavers like charcoal pills, flu pills and whatnots ok. Hahahaha we'll see you at the airport soon!

Hello!

2009-11-11T00:13:00.001-08:00

Hello people! This is the 1st post of the JJ India OELP blog. It's 8 more days to our trip! Excited much? Bryant is our dear Facebook master and Terana's our photographer!

Have fun preparing for the trip and see y'all around on Friday's 2pm meeting. :)