We came through the dark archway into the dazzling light, intense heat and spectacular view of the Taj Mahal. Spectacular is such an inadequate word, we should pen a new one. Twenty five people diverse in almost every way but united in our response to the sight. Many of us had spent the previous evening walking through the crowded alley like streets of old Delhi on our way to Karim’s a kebab restaurant in this primarily vegetarian country. We had not yet lost Josh, gotten on the wrong train, had our guide threatened by police, been felled one by one by the stomach warriors of India or fallen in love with the women and especially children of the villages, but we were already fascinated and ready to begin our tour of two countries with our fearless leaders Professor Kevin Kolben and Harsh Dutia. We thank them for sharing this country with us and leading us on this journey to which they dedicated their time and their hearts. - Professor Judy Iskovitz (2010 Course)

Friday, March 11, 2011

2011 Course in India Begins

Welcome to our first post of the 2011 class. Most of the students are arriving in New Delhi tonight on a direct 14 hour flight from Newark. I arrived yesterday, but I'll be there to greet them tonight at the airport to begin a very intense 10 days of early mornings and late nights of meetings and activities. In the meantime, two students, Ashley and Robby, came to India a few days early to travel and I ran into them arriving at the hotel today, so I invited them to lunch at a place I had been planning on going to called the Andhra Pradesh Bhavan. It's essentially a canteen for people who work for the Andhra Pradesh government in Delhi, and although the sign out front said MLAs, MPs, and VIPs only, they let us in anyway for a delicious all you can eat Andhra thali. Ashley found it a little too spicy I think, indicated by the bright red glow on her face and the remains of the tasty chicken that she left mostly untouched. But fun was had by all.


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1 comment:

  1. AmritaMarch 13, 2011 at 11:35 AM

    Great to see more posts on this blog, and looking forward to following India Class of 2011's adventure!

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