The first educational tour at Srishti school of Art, Design and Technology in Bangalore was an occasion that
all of us looked forward to. Five months in Bangalore and that too remaining
almost confined to Yalehanka, the outskirts of Bangalore, had stirred in us a
desire to visit a new destination, other than our hometowns of course. And
therefore when we were asked to choose our choice of place for the educational
tour, I was both excited and anxious. There were a lot of places that I hadn’t been
to like – Malwa, Jodhpur, Kutch etc yet I chose Varanasi for a variety of
reasons.
Varanasi I knew is the world’s oldest living city besides
being the holiest place for those belonging to the Hindu religion. The rich
cultural traditions of the city, inspired by Ganges, the holiest of river in
the country and its extremely rich history had always inspired me and in the
back of my mind I always had a desire to visit the city at the earliest
opportunity. Besides Varanasi is a place that has a confluence of religions,
Buddhism being one of them. And
therefore when the occasion arose, I put my finger bang on Varanasi even though
other places appeared much more exotic to explore. Varanasi I knew would have
the mysticism that other places would not. Yet I knew that my visit to Varanasi
would not be as a tourist but as an intrepid traveler who is out to explore the
place to its fullest. My teachers had mentioned that this educational tour is
all about learning about the evolution of the city, understanding its pulse and
also its finer points through extensive interaction with the local people and
experiencing the local environment to the maximum extent possible. Basically it
was a learning experience, but not through books but practical hands on
approach.
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