AIFS in Hyderabad – Notes from Campus
Golden Triangle Tour
Mid-Semester Trip to Ajanta and Ellora
Dancing the Night away—Bollywood Dandiya
Spice Box — An Indian Cooking Lesson
Diwali
Warangal
Golden Triangle Tour
The Golden Triangle tour is approaching! Here are some highlights of the itinerary:
- Full day of sightseeing in Delhi, including the colonial buildings of New Delhi – the Parliament of India and India Gate, the Jami Masjid (largest and best known mosque in India), and the Red Fort. There will be free time for shopping at Chandni Chowk, one of the most famous markets of Old Delhi.
- Sightseeing in Jaipur includes the Amber Fort, perched on a ridge above the city, where you will have the chance to ride on an elephant. You will also see the famous Palace of the Winds and the impressive 18th century Jantar Mantar observatory.
- Visit to the Taj Mahal, generally considered the world's finest example of Moghul architecture. Built in the 17th century by Shah Jehan as a mausoleum for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal, the white marble "Taj" is India's most precious monument and a stunningly beautiful building.
- Visit to Fatehpur Sikri, the abandoned former capital city of the Moghul Empire. Built from local red sandstone, the city includes numerous palaces, halls and mosques.
Is it or isn't it?
It isn't! It looks like the Taj Mahal, but it's actually a smaller replica of that famous building and the final resting place of the daughter-inlaw of the man who built the Taj Mahal. Unlike the famous Taj which is all marble, this one's mostly stucco. We took this picture in anticipation of the visit to the Big T!
Mid-Semester Trip to Ajanta and Ellora
The first weekend in September the AIFS group headed off to the World Heritage Sites of Ajanta and Ellora. We first visited Ajanta, the site of Buddhist cave monuments carved into the hills in a horseshoe-shaped ravine dating from the 2nd Century BC. The hills were green with the recent monsoon, the caves were awe-inspiring and the weather was perfect.
The next day, we headed to Ellora, another set of rock-carved temples that were very different from the ones in Ajanta.
These were mostly Hindu temples and included the jaw-dropping Kailasa Temple, a free standing temple carved completely out of a single hill. This is considered to be the largest monolithic sculpture in the world. Lots of climbing and photographs later, we moved to our last monument of the day, Bibi ka Maqbara.
This was the tomb built by Emperor Aurangazeb for his wife and is a mini version of the famous Taj Mahal built by his father for a favorite wife. The tomb was surprisingly impressive and we spent quite a while exploring it. After a cup of chai in the shadow of this charming building, it was back to the hotel to pack up, have dinner and catch the night train to Hyderabad. We got back to the University just in time for breakfast and class!
Dancing the Night Away — Bollywood Dandiya
The ten-day festival of Navratri (literally meaning Nine Nights) is celebrated across the country in a big way.
The story goes that the evil demon Mahishasura was harassing the earth and needed to be stopped. All the Gods came together to pool their power and create the Mother Goddess Durga, who fought a huge battle and eventually killed Mahishasura. It is also supposed to be the day that Prince Rama killed the evil King Ravana for kidnapping his wife.
The nine days and the final tenth day are celebrated with prayer, food, and dancing. A special dance called dandiya with participants clashing sticks as they swirl around is part of the celebration.
On September 20th, our students got to participate in a Dandiya Night Celebration and danced with 200 other people to both traditional and Bollywood music. We capped it off with dinner, and more dancing. Unfortunately, we don‘t have pictures — everyone was too busy dancing!
Spice Box — An Indian Cooking Lesson
It's time you met the Indian Spice Box! To accomplish that, we‘ll have a cooking lesson. Come armed with a notebook and pencil and your appetite — we‘ll cook a complete dinner, and eat it too.
The Menu:
- Dal (lentils) with lemon and spices
- Spiced Potatoes
- Matar (peas) Paneer
- Cumin Rice
- Indian-style Onion Salad
- Rotis (flat bread)
Diwali
Diwali, popularly called the Festival of Lights, is a Hindu festival celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, and many other communities both in India and abroad. Diwali or Deepavali, as it is called in South India, means row of lights and is marked by the hundreds of clay lamps filled with oil and lit with cotton wicks decorating the city. Wax candles and electric lights have also become popular but you can find vendors selling beautifully shaped clay lamps on every street in India.
The festival celebrates the triumph of good over evil, light over the forces of darkness. New clothes, sweets, lights, and fireworks (called "crackers" in India) are our way of celebrating this festival, which falls on October 17th this year.
AIFS will celebrate by having Diwali Dinner at the traditional restaurant Our Place, which will be beautifully decorated with lights and flowers for the festival. Dinner will be formal — please wear traditional clothes if you can!
You are invited to join my family to "burst crackers" with us. Or you can join other students to celebrate on the University campus.
AIFS Excursion: Soaking Up some Telugu Culture in Warangal
The town of Warangal , about 160 km from Hyderabad, was once the capital city of the Telugu Kakatiya Kings.
We started out at 6.00 am and drove down, stopping on the way for breakfast and a look at a 1800-year-old Jain Temple. In Warangal, our first stop was the small but impressive Kali temple by the lake. We then visited the star-shaped Thousand Pillar temple and stopped to watch the monkeys.
After a special lunch with the Joint Collector of Warangal, we headed 60 km out to see the ornately carved Ramappa Temple. Set amid green fields and empty of tourists save us, we had a great time looking around and watching the sun set behind the temple, before driving back to Hyderabad.
Posing in front of the 800-year-old Thousand Pillar Temple in Warangal, Andhra Pradesh. Four temples, three chai breaks, two flat tires and one lovely town made for an exciting and eventful visit.
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