Dharamsala – Or is it Tibet?

For the final organized trip for the Lauder Hindi track, we were off to Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh.  For various reasons, what was a Lauder event turned into an optional trip, however I wasn’t going to miss the chance to visit the home of the Dalai Lama.  Dharamsala is where the Dalai Lama has taken exile and a number of Tibetans have followed him.  In order to get to Dharamsala, we hopped onto an overnight train and then took a 3 hour taxi to get to Mcleod Ganj (the touristy part of Dharamsala).

Now before I talk about Dharamsala itself, let me tell you a little about Indian trains.  The overnight trains are a lot of fun – you get your own little section, you play cards, read a book, gossip for a while and then go to sleep in bunk beds (stacked in sets of 3 beds).  Now the less enjoyable part is after you’ve gone to sleep.  The train makes a few stops along the way and then you have random people coming into your section turning on your lights.  Or trying to steal your pillow.  Or pulling out your phone charger to charge their own phone (don’t ask me why they can’t charge it in their own damn section).  In any case – all of this happened to my poor friend who was desperately trying to get some sleep and not only did it wake him up each time but the rest of us too!  Can’t we have a little bit of common courtesy please?!?

In any case, after arriving in Dharamsala, we decided to take a trek to the Bhagsu waterfall.  We were given very vague instructions on how to get there so before we knew it we were going off road on the mountain.  It was all good fun though as we found a few mountain goats who took quite the liking to us and followed us along the way.  The goats were uber cute and mostly harmless.  Well, apart from when they decided to fight, ramming into each other head to head!  The waterfall itself was scenic but nothing incredibly amazing (I do come from Canada which just happens to have the largest natural waterfall in the world – perhaps I’m a little biased?).  What I did find spectacular though was how the clouds went in and out of the peaks and valleys – it made for some phenomenal views.

The next day, we went to the Norbulingka Institute.  The chaos that is India completely disappeared in this small compound.  The grass looked greener, the air seemed fresher and there was a relaxing peacefulness about the place – well, until the mosquitos started feasting on my ankles!  Regardless, it was a very enjoyable monastery.

Over the next couple of days, I also hit up the 17^th Karmapa monastery, the Tsuglangkhang complex (where the Dalai Lama lives) and another temple that’s hidden away in the forest.  I accidently came up on this temple wandering on a small path through the forest and still have no idea what it’s called.  I actually found it more fascinating than the one in the Tsuglangkhang complex, so anyone going there please go check it out – walk down the road around the backside of the Tsuglangkhang complex (it’s a 15-20 minute walk).

The trip to Dharamsala wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the food.  The Peace Café surely has the best brownies in all of India!  It was so good that I went back there a second time just for the brownie!  Other than that, I found the Tibetan and Bhutanese food quite enjoyable – momos, thukpa and thenthuk.  Overall, Dharamsala made for a very enjoyable low-key weekend, exactly what I need before heading back to Philadelphia for the Wharton MBA pre-term.

In the Media

As I’ve already discussed on my blog, the Lauder Hindi track has had the opportunity to meet some pretty big names during our summer immersion.  Two of the most interesting and fun visits involved the Hindi track presenting itself in front of the Indian media.

First off, we had the opportunity to write for the Navbharat Times (Delhi’s most popular Hindi newspaper).  On day 1, we individually wrote articles about India’s arrival on the international stage and what challenges face the country.  There it is – my Hindi in full print!  Fortunately, the wonderful editors at Navbharat Times actually make my article sound somewhat legitimate.  On the second day, we had the opportunity to tag along with a reporter – but unfortunately, my reporter’s meeting got cancelled (it is India, after all).  Later that day, we collectively wrote an article about the changes that have come about in Delhi.  It felt a little artificial, but once again, we were immortalized (or something like that) on the front page of the newspaper.

The other visit was to Radio Mirchi - India’s most listened to Hindi station.  Radio Mirchi really impressed me – the employees had an energy about them, a vibe that clearly demonstrated the fun they have at work.  And that fun definitely translates into the broadcast studio.  All the Radio Jockey’s clearly love being on air.  And for a few minutes, I had the opportunity to partake in that enjoyment.  Right in the middle of rush hour, my trackmate and I had the opportunity to have a short chat live on air.  We talked about our program, our reasons for studying Hindi and even about finding the right woman!  The RJ’s and Radio Mirchi employees gave me an uber-compliment when the told me I was a natural on air.  Perhaps if the whole business thing doesn’t work out, I’ll become an RJ on a Hindi radio station!

Jaipur, Rajasthan

A couple of weekends ago, the Lauder Hindi track went to Jaipur.  We left on Friday afternoon but first we stopped off for a night at Neemrana.  Neemrana is between Delhi and Jaipur and the location of an old fort, which has been converted into a hotel.  This is where we would stay on Friday night.  The fort itself was gorgeous.  We spent a good 2-3 hours exploring the fort before jumping into the swimming pool to cool down.  Beyond the natural beauty we were a little disappointed with the hotel itself – small rooms, mediocre meals and we would later learn that half the fort was built specifically for the hotel!  Despite that, we had our fair share of fun (which may or may not have included some late night sneaking around the fort in the dark).

The next morning we left for Jaipur.  Our trip took a turn for a worse as we were stuck in traffic for much longer than we should have.  We had a corporate visit at a textile factory in Jaipur, which turned out to be a bust.  Not having had any lunch, we were all starving and had little interest in the textile factory itself.

Despite not having eaten, we didn’t want to miss the opportunity of seeing the Jaipur sunset from Nahargarh fort.  It was by far the most memorable moment of the weekend and one of the most beautiful and unique sunsets I’ve ever seen.  From the top of the fort, we could hear individual voices, cars horns and prayers from each of the many masjids in Jaipur.  We saw the daylight turn into a beautiful spectacle of city lights and could see fireworks going off in the distance.  For anyone going to Jaipur, I would highly recommend watching the sunset from Nahargarh fort.  It’s breathtaking!

As we drove back from Nahargarh fort,  I couldn’t help notice the numerous animals on the streets – cows are commonplace in India but there were horses, camels and elephants being ridden on the streets!  After a much needed dinner, we crashed at the Hotel Arya Niwas.

On our way back to Delhi, we stopped at Amer fort.  Once again, the views from Amer fort are breathtaking.  The fort itself is massive and quite a spectacle but by the end of it I had definitely seen enough forts for the weekend!  The trip to Jaipur felt a little short and we unfortunately didn’t have time to see the older part of the city (The Pink City).  Nevertheless it was a fun trip and I’m sure I’ll return at some point in my life to see the rest of Jaipur.

What About the Academics?

From my recent posts it must appear that the Lauder summer immersion is all fun, games and travel, but we actually do have to study too!  So on that note, I'm going to use today's post to summarize the academics.

Over the last 2 months, we've averaged 3-5 hours of class on most days, which includes instruction as well as one-on-one sessions.  Overall, I definitely saw an improvement in my Hindi, but I also feel I'm quite a ways from the much desired "superior" level.  The ultimate goal over the 2 years at Wharton/Lauder is to improve our language skills up to "superior," which basically means that one can handle a wide variety of situations (including presentations, debates and role plays) with complete language fluency.  Now if by some miracle, I am actually able to pass off as "superior" by the end of the 1st year, then my summer project for next year will have more flexibility (i.e. I wouldn't necessarily have to come back to India next summer).  Superior or not, my goal was to improve as much as I could.

Aside from the language instruction, I found the first month was very light on graded assignments.  And then suddenly, about half way through we were hit with a presentation, debate and short speech all in the same week.  I presented my Wagah border experience (from my July 15th post).  For the debate, I had to role play the government view on the Lokpal bill (an anti-corruption bill) - much to my chagrin it's not a viewpoint I agree with and thus got killed in the debate.  And finally, my speech was about a recent corporate visit to Reliance Big Entertainment.

For the second month, we had a number of ungraded debates, presentations, grammar correction exercises and ad hoc stories we had to make up.  We had our final exam today, which consisted of a 5 minute speech, a written assignment and some grammar corrections.  All in all, I was happy that our classes were somewhat relaxed but a part of me thinks a little extra rigor would have helped me improve my language faster.  It's a difficult balance though since I'm sure I would have been complaining if the classes were any tougher!

Day 3 - Bhaktapur, Nepal

On day 3, we ventured to Bhaktapur.  Bhaktapur is a small medieval town that through some miracle has avoided the typical westernization that is commonplace in South East Asia.  We are all too accustomed to seeing Coke, Pepsi and Vodafone signs everywhere that it was refreshing to come across a town that has entirely avoided the commercialization.  Furthermore, traditions such as washing clothes at the town water tanks, acquiring water from wells and lounging in the outdoor huts playing cards are still very much prevalent in the town.  The town infrastructure is almost all made with brick - from the homes, to the roads to the drainage as well!  It truly felt like stepping back in time.

To cap off the evening, I had dinner with a family acquaintance at a Japanese restaurant in Kathmandu.  We talked about some of the challenges that Nepal current faces - a nation that is struggling to be a global presence, considering it's located between two of the world's fastest growing economies in China and India.  At the same time, Nepal is trying to establish political stability within its own borders.

The next morning, we jetted back to New Delhi but not before an inordinate amount of security checks at Kathmandu airport.  It seems like they really don't want anyone to leave - it takes at least 2 X-ray checks, 2 manual luggage checks and being frisked 3 times by security before you're allowed to board the plane!

Day 2 - Everest, Nepal

The second day started with a completely unplanned trip to Mount Everest.  Although we are three strong lads (although slightly questionable with our recent workout routines), we decided against climbing the mountain.  Instead, we took the easy route and hopped onto a 7 AM mountain flight and saw Everest by air.  It was an absolute awe-inspiring flight!  It was overcast but we were able to break out of the clouds long enough to see the massive peak.  And the cherry on top was getting to see it from the cockpit!

After returning, we completed the remainder of our walking tour.  This time we ventured to Durbar square and once again, we saw lots of courtyard and temples.  We finally settled to have lunch on Freak Street (named so by the locals since there are numerous foreigner hippy "freaks" in this part of the city).  Once again, we braved the Nepali food and once again we were disappointed.  This time the food was way too bland.  The remainder of the day got washed away by the monsoon rains so I sat indoors and caught up on writing up a few posts for this very blog.

Day 1 - Kathmandu, Nepal

Three of us from the Lauder Hindi track decided to go to Kathmandu for the July 4th weekend.  We arrived with minimal planning and two of us found out that we had to purchase visas on landing.  No worries.  We had ample money in Indian rupees, which I knew is widely accepted in Nepal.  Here's the catch though - the visas can only be purchased in foreign currency (i.e. US Dollars, Pounds, Euros, etc...).  And there was one more catch - denominations of Indian Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 are not accepted.  Oh crap!!

At this point it was like we had no money.  We had to withdraw Nepalese Rupees from the ATM and exchange that for US Dollars to buy our visas.  Quite ironic that in order to enter a country half way across the world, we had to convert back to US dollars!

After arriving at our hostel, we decided to go on a "Lonely Planet" walking tour around Thamel (the touristy part of Kathmandu).  We saw temple after temple - it seems like there's a temple at every intersection and two or three in between too!  Tired of seeing temples we decided to wander over to an intriguing ceremony - a Hindu festival celebrating children.  The kids were dressed in their best clothes and looked quite adorable.  We got to the epicenter of the festival and my jaw literally dropped.  We walked straight up to a live goat sacrifice!!!  The head was still being chopped off and the body was wriggling about - blood was gushing everywhere!  It was the most gruesome thing I've ever seen.  It was all a very odd scene - there was a huge line of children sitting on one side and blood being splattered on Hindi gods on the other side.

Even though we had lost our appetite, we decided to stop for lunch at a traditional Newari (Nepali) restaurant.  Our meal consisted of chicken, deer and goat.  Yes, we had goat right after watching a goat sacrifice!  For what it's worth, we absolutely hated the food and couldn't stomach much more than a few spoonfuls.  Exhausted from our travels, we returned back to our hostel for a long nap, only waking up in the evening for a proper meal - this time for Thai food at the Yin Yang restaurant.

Wagah – The India-Pakistan Border

Before I get going, a warning that this is about to be a long post. The Wagah border experience was a once in a lifetime experience for me and I want to capture it in its full essence. With that, onwards with the story…

The same afternoon that my friend and I visited the Golden Temple, we also took a trip to the Wagah Border. During India’s independence in 1947, the town of Wagah was split into half – half of it in India and half in Pakistan. This is the only land crossing between India and Pakistan. Every day at sunset, a special ceremony between the two countries takes place – a ceremonial opening of the gate and lowering of both countries’ flags. The ceremony simultaneously captures both the close ties and the animosity between the two countries.

We arrived to the town at 3:00 PM, a full two hours before we would be let into the stands and 3.5 hours before the ceremony was due to begin. Being a Saturday, they were expecting 20,000 people and we weren’t going to miss the chance of getting a seat. We were the first to arrive but as the crowds grew, we were pushed closer and closer against the entrance gate. In over 40 degrees of heat (~110 degrees Farenheit), it didn’t take long until I was completely drenched in sweat. Just imagine 20,000 stinking and sweaty bodies pushing up against you for 2 hours – it was a few magnitudes worse than being on a local Mumbai train!

The gates opened at 5:00 PM and I was almost knocked down in the stampede. I kept my balance but there was a mad rush to the security checkpoint. We were one of the first to make it there but the people behind us kept trying to push in and get ahead of us. We almost broke into a fight, trying to maintain some form of queue – it bothers me that most Indians have no regard for common courtesy, fairness and organization!

Once through security, I pleaded with the security guards to let us into the VIP section. Anyone holding a non-Indian passport is considered a VIP (which applies to me) but unfortunately, I didn’t bring my passport with me on this occasion. The guards would not have any of it so we ran to the general seating section. We had already lost out on getting one of the first few rows but we managed to find a seat on the hot concrete stands. It was scorching and I think I gained a few 1st degree burns on my rear end!

Soon enough the VIPs were allowed to walk onto the border crossing and wave Indian flags in anticipation of the ceremony. Here we were in the stands with 20,000 Indians but it were the foreigners (many with no Indian heritage whatsoever) who had the privilege of waving the Indian flags inches away from the border. Hmph!!

Regardless, the ceremony started at 6:30 PM. First the Indian soldiers marched to the border, then the Pakistani soldiers. Both sides opened the gates to the crossing and shook hands.

Next, each set of soldiers paraded back and forth trying to outshine the opposing country through angry gestures and trying to establish superiority. The Indian crowd (including me) was going nuts, shouting “Hindustand Zindabad”, “Bharat mata ki jai” and “Vande Mataram” – patriotic chants proclaiming India’s freedom. The ceremony ended with lowering of the flags and the closing of the gates between the two countries. Just as the crowd had entered, it also left in mass exodus. Even though the experience was frustrating at times, watching the ceremony live was well worth it and a moment of pride for me as a heritage Indian. This is cultural immersion at it’s best!

Amritsar, Punjab – Golden Temple

I’m way behind on posts so the next few posts are going to be about my travels from the last 2-3 weeks.

First off, two weekends ago, my roommate and I went to Punjab. We had an early flight on the Saturday morning and woke up way too late. If that wasn’t bad enough, as we approached the airport, we were told that auto rickshaws aren’t allowed all the way to the terminal. Some dude wanted us to pay Rs. 500 for a 2 minute taxi ride but we weren’t having any of it! So we jumped on a packed public bus instead. We had to run to the check-in desk and arrived just 40 minutes before departure and a full 20 minutes after check-in had closed. After some expert negotiation, we were allowed in. Whew!

Upon landing in Amritsar, we took a cab to the Golden Temple. We decided to seek out a tourist guide to tell us about the temple before we actually went in. The guide first took us to Jallianwala Bagh, the site of a massacre conducted by the ruling British in 1919. We were able to see the bullet holes back from when the massacre took place. It was quite a moving experience.

Next, we went back to the Golden Temple and the guide explained the significance of the temple. It was awesomely beautiful. We soaked in the environment and walked around the surrounding pool. It is believed the pool of water can heal skin diseases such as leprosy and therefore, many pilgrims bathe in the water. We decided to stay well away from the water!

Finally, we enjoyed lunch at the largest free kitchen in the world. It is estimated that 80,000 people dine at the Golden Temple’s free kitchen on a daily basis. The cycle time for a single meal is a mere 20 minutes – that includes entering the hall, serving the food, eating lunch, exiting and clean-up. The entire kitchen is run by volunteers and there is even a queue in order to volunteer at the kitchen! And if that wasn’t enough, the meal itself was amazing too.