Sound unfamiliar? Well that's where I went with the group from CSB/SJU last weekend: a famous village called Santiniketan. Only a four or five hour drive away from Kolkata, Santiniketan brought the group more interaction with the culture of West Bengal.
Saturday's highlights took two forms: shopping and watching a dance. We visited a weekly market for handicrafts. The hand-made jewelry, clothing, bags, and other beautiful items forced us to see everything before making any decisions. Fortunately, everything was remarkably inexpensive. One pair of earrings cost me only 10 Rupees, which is less than 25 cents in America! We just wish there had been more time before we had to leave for a dance. We went to a small, rural village to see a performance of a traditional wedding dance. The dancers only perform this dance, unique to this particular village, at weddings and upon special request from visitors. It seemed that the entire town gathered, partially to see the performance and partially because they were as interested in us as we were in them. Upon leaving, we visited the Amar Kutir Society for Rural Development, a one-time refuge for Indian nationalists that is now famous for its leather products. By the end of the day, we were "shopped out" but quite content.
Sunday brought more academic experiences. After a visit to terracotta temples, we ate a traditional Bengali street breakfast. Then, we visited the sites that made Santiniketan famous: sites related to Rabindranath Tagore. Although unknown in America, Tagore is extremely famous in India as a poet, writer, artist, composer, playwright, actor, educator, and more. Tagore's writings and speeches greatly influenced the Indian nationalist movement, although he often disagreed with Gandhi. In addition, both India and Bangladesh selected songs by Tagore as their national anthems. We saw a museum about Tagore and walked through some of his many, architecturally artistic houses. But my favorite part was the school. Tagore began a high school and later a university on the belief that school should be interesting and based on student motivation to learn rather than on teachers force-feeding information. As part of this, classes occur outside in nature when possible. I marveled at the circular benches under trees that even included chalkboards. Then again, our frequent requests to work outside in my Educational Psychology class last spring suggests that this concept should not surprise me. Something about being outside just makes learning a bit more enjoyable. Tagore's school is by no means an academically superior educational institution, but it certainly encouraged greater efforts to make learning enjoyable in Kolkata's schools.
The trip to Santiniketan was by no means as exciting to write and read about as some of our earlier adventures. On the other hand, I loved our weekend and would have enjoyed more time there. But, alas, we had to return to Kolkata for that funny little thing called class. Sometimes, it takes a few reminders to recall that we are in India for STUDY abroad. And an eighteen credit course load is certainly nothing to sneeze at when we also wish to make friends and explore the city...
At this point, I have a request of readers. Do you have any questions regarding life here in India or other factors of my trip? If so, I would love to answer. Just comment on any blog post or contact me through another means of communication. I may respond directly or turn your thought/question into a topic for a blog post. After all, I want to share that which interests you.
Saturday's highlights took two forms: shopping and watching a dance. We visited a weekly market for handicrafts. The hand-made jewelry, clothing, bags, and other beautiful items forced us to see everything before making any decisions. Fortunately, everything was remarkably inexpensive. One pair of earrings cost me only 10 Rupees, which is less than 25 cents in America! We just wish there had been more time before we had to leave for a dance. We went to a small, rural village to see a performance of a traditional wedding dance. The dancers only perform this dance, unique to this particular village, at weddings and upon special request from visitors. It seemed that the entire town gathered, partially to see the performance and partially because they were as interested in us as we were in them. Upon leaving, we visited the Amar Kutir Society for Rural Development, a one-time refuge for Indian nationalists that is now famous for its leather products. By the end of the day, we were "shopped out" but quite content.
Sunday brought more academic experiences. After a visit to terracotta temples, we ate a traditional Bengali street breakfast. Then, we visited the sites that made Santiniketan famous: sites related to Rabindranath Tagore. Although unknown in America, Tagore is extremely famous in India as a poet, writer, artist, composer, playwright, actor, educator, and more. Tagore's writings and speeches greatly influenced the Indian nationalist movement, although he often disagreed with Gandhi. In addition, both India and Bangladesh selected songs by Tagore as their national anthems. We saw a museum about Tagore and walked through some of his many, architecturally artistic houses. But my favorite part was the school. Tagore began a high school and later a university on the belief that school should be interesting and based on student motivation to learn rather than on teachers force-feeding information. As part of this, classes occur outside in nature when possible. I marveled at the circular benches under trees that even included chalkboards. Then again, our frequent requests to work outside in my Educational Psychology class last spring suggests that this concept should not surprise me. Something about being outside just makes learning a bit more enjoyable. Tagore's school is by no means an academically superior educational institution, but it certainly encouraged greater efforts to make learning enjoyable in Kolkata's schools.
The trip to Santiniketan was by no means as exciting to write and read about as some of our earlier adventures. On the other hand, I loved our weekend and would have enjoyed more time there. But, alas, we had to return to Kolkata for that funny little thing called class. Sometimes, it takes a few reminders to recall that we are in India for STUDY abroad. And an eighteen credit course load is certainly nothing to sneeze at when we also wish to make friends and explore the city...
At this point, I have a request of readers. Do you have any questions regarding life here in India or other factors of my trip? If so, I would love to answer. Just comment on any blog post or contact me through another means of communication. I may respond directly or turn your thought/question into a topic for a blog post. After all, I want to share that which interests you.
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