Why should you Study India next summer?

“Oh that’s cool… What is it?”

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]his has been the unvarying response I have had every time I tell someone I spent my summer on the UKIERI Study India Programme (SIP). After seeing a small advert for the programme repeatedly popping up on my Facebook, I decided I might as well follow the link and see why Zuckerberg’s team thought this would be so apt for me. The trip looked too good to be true and for a while I dismissed it as so. A free trip to India? Bollywood classes? ALLOCATED SHOPPING TIME? Yeah right. However, the deeper I delved into the website the more convinced I was that this was not only a legitimate programme but that it could potentially be one of the most incredible experiences of my life.

I received my acceptance email with the same euphoria that Charlie got his golden ticket and instantly went to book my flights and register for my visa (the only things I actually had to pay for). One month later I was sat in the Heathrow departures lounge with a girl I’d met on the Facebook group about to embark on my voyage.

The Delhi heat hit me like a brick in the face as I left the airport but I was promptly greeted by ‘the man with a mustache’ and was herded onto a blissfully air-conditioned bus with all the other SIPers who happened to have arrived around the same time as me. For the next two weeks I slept and dined in a gorgeous hotel in central Delhi with 99 new friends in an experience I can only describe as a big fortnight-long sleepover.

photo: Saad Akhtar

My first week consisted of a lot of early starts, which is definitely a shock to the system for your typical uni student but something we all got used to quickly, followed by jam-packed days. Our mornings were filled with cultural trips to temples, Old Delhi, India gate and other such sites. During the day and afternoon we all got the chance to go to one of Delhi University’s prestigious colleges. I was chosen to attend an all-girls college called Gargi where I met Swadha, an 18 year-old Psychology student who I still keep in touch with. During our stay at the college we were given dance lessons, talks about the Indian education system and a lecture about the history of India. We also got to do a fruit tasting session so we could try out all of their weird and wonderful exotic fruits (some much nicer than others…). In the evening we got to schmooze with the Delhi elite in fancy bars and hotels whilst learning about how they got successful and why India has a lot of potential as a future global superpower.

The following week we spent Monday to Friday working at the internship we had chosen prior to our departure. From this internship I gained one of the most eye-opening experiences of my life. I worked for a non-governmental organization called Udayan Care run by Dr Kiran Modi, and if you haven’t already heard of it then I strongly recommend you look it up. We made our own way to and from the office in tiny, terrifying, three-wheeler auto-rickshaws (or tuk tuks as they’re otherwise known). Forget sky-diving and bungee-jumping, riding in one of these babies through central Delhi in 40 degree heat should be at the top of any thrill-seeker’s list. After work we spent our evenings going to poetry readings, light and sound shows and cultural evenings and at the weekend we took a trip to the Taj Mahal. Needless to say we got a healthy dose of what Indian culture has to offer.

A guided slum tour might sound weird and perverse: Western tourists taking a superficial trip through a slum to cast judgment on the inhabitants and conditions only to leave an hour later with a saviour complex and full of ideas about how they’re going to change the world

At the end of the second week all 100 of us took a 17-hour overnight train from Delhi to Mumbai. The carriages we were in were catered and had beds as well as plug sockets and air conditioning; not a far cry away from a hostel except that it had wheels and much better views. After arriving in Mumbai we all had the chance to wander around the city and make our own experiences. While some raced to the nearest internet café, others took to the coastline and a few intrepid explorers even took a boat to Elephanta Island (unadvised during monsoon season unless you’re an exceptionally strong swimmer).

The week in Mumbai flew by. One morning we all did a bicycle tour around the city at five in the morning when the streets were empty and not even the sun had woken up yet. It was absolutely magical and it gave us the chance to witness a global city shift into gear and begin its morning routine. Other activities included meeting a famous fashion designer, going on a treasure hunt around the city, and going on a guided slum tour. The idea of a guided slum tour might sound weird, perverse and not without a hint of schadenfreude, and in a way it was: wealthy Western tourists taking a superficial trip through a slum to cast judgments on the inhabitants and their conditions only to leave an hour later with an inflated saviour complex and full of ideas about how they’re going to change the world…after they’ve finished watching Gossip Girl. However, after being shown around Dharavi, the slum which gained its notoriety predominantly because of Slumdog Millionaire, I was stunned not by the poverty but the fact that despite it the people who lived there were so content and had a strong sense of community. The explosion of colours, smells and sounds blew me away and I left with a completely altered perception of the slums.

The three weeks I spent with the SIP team were among the best of my life. I met new people, dabbled in Hindi and became so enlightened I pretty much floated back.

To find out more about the Study India Programme, visit http://studyindia.co.uk/