TRIP TO AGRA, DELHI & MATHURA

It has often been said that experience is the best teacher. This perhaps, is the most applicable cliché to describe the recent trip taken to Delhi, Agra and Mathura by the IGCSE Class IX B and C Hindi students.

The main objectives of the trip were simple. Mr. Sreeraman wanted us to be able to converse with the locals in fluent "shudh" Hindi while realizing the importance of a monument in its geographical, historical, cultural, and linguistic aspects.

When we made the sixteen- hour journey to Delhi, most of us didn't know what to expect, it being our first trip to the capital. Mr. Sreeraman and Ms. Gandhi, who accompanied us, taught us to observe even the most ordinary things and compare them to life in Bombay. Our learning process began before we even set foot on Delhi station. We were awestruck by the sights that greeted us in Delhi, where even the most mundane insights lead to debates on their significance. Seeing things like billboards written in Hindi, or meeting guides who could switch fluently between Hindi and English illustrated to us that the National Language is still important in our capital city.

The rest of the five-day trip is a whirlwind of memories, seeing the Qutub Minar and the Lotus (Bahai) Temple, learning first hand about Mughal History and the generations of Mughal Kings from the Red Fort. We visited monuments passed down as legacies, like the forts, and saw others that immediately gave us an overwhelming sense of patriotism, the Teen Murti Bhavan and Rashtrapati Bhavan. Every monument we saw in Delhi impacted us in some manner, and connected us to our roots. And the best was yet to come.

You must have heard the saying: good things come to those who wait, and seeing the Taj Mahal was something along those lines. We saw the Taj on our second last day of the trip, and wished we could've stayed there forever. Time lost all meaning as we longed to sit in the surrounding garden and just gaze at the most magnificent monument on Indian soil, a dream carved in white marble. The monument immortalized the undying love that Shah Jahan had for his beloved, his queen, Mumtaz Mahal.
Perhaps even more imposing than the Taj are the stories that surround it. Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal could easily be proclaimed the most romantic couple based on the stories alone. The true depth of Shah Jahan's passion can only be realized when one stands at the Agra Fort, where he had been imprisoned by Aurangzeb, his own son. It is believed that Shah Jahan spent all his time in captivity only gazing at the Taj through the narrow windows of the Fort.

After the Taj we saw certain other tourist destinations, like Fatehpur Sikri, but they couldn't measure up to the glory of the Taj.
In Mathura, on the final day of our Delhi trip, we offered prayers to Lord Krishna, who was believed to have been born on that land. After this, our trip drew to an end, as we mounted the train back to Mumbai.

The trip was truly an enriching experience, as we gained knowledge in a variety of fields, ranging from religious to historical to cultural. No stone was left unturned by our teachers as they sought to enhance our skills to the optimum, and at the same time to make our journey an enjoyable one. Their efforts were hugely successful as they gave us one of our most memorable experiences from school. This trip turned out to be an amalgamation of all that we had expected and more. Every single student who attended this trip, returned with newly acquired knowledge and an inquiring mind, which left thoughts echoing in our minds long after we had returned to Mumbai. These thoughts were central to the sights in Delhi and were along the lines of, "I actually wished I was a bird so I could keep visiting the Taj, unbound by restriction, and see it and appreciate it in its true magnificence." The more ambitious ones were inspired by the Rashtrapati Bhawan and were thinking, "When I become President of India, I will…" This trip made us realize unknown hopes and thoughts, and played a key role, not only in honing our language skills, but also in helping us evolve as mature individuals.

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