Workshops

Hindi
Students will study Hindi and learn enough basic vocabulary so that they can interact with people.   Learning Hindi will also be another pathway for discovering Indian culture.   No prior knowledge of Hindi is required.  

Music and Dance
Students will be able to not only learn about, but also learn from trying to play traditional Indian instruments such as the sitar and tabla, or learning to sing some Hindustani classical and folk music.   An emphasis will be placed on understanding the differences between the structure and instruments of Indian music and those of Western music and what these differences mean.   Jaipur remains one of the three centers of India's classical Katthak dance.   The students will have an opportunity to learn Katthak as well as Rajasthani folk dances.   Students will also discover, through music and dance, some of the differences between northern and southern India.  

Arts and Crafts
Working at some of the traditional crafts of the area, such as hand block printing, miniature painting, tie-die, puppetry, blue pottery, and Batik painting, students will learn much more than just watching others.   Mastery will not be achieved, but students will appreciate how these crafts relate to broader Indian culture.  

Medicine
Ayurvedic medicine is one of the oldest practices in the world.   Students will learn how this ancient practice is applied as well as the principles behind it.   They will also learn some of the skills of Ayurvedic massage.  

 

Excursions

The two visits to Delhi will be busy times as the students explore the dramatic differences between Old Delhi and New Delhi, see aching poverty and super-affluence, and gain a sense for what makes this city so vibrant.   Seeing Delhi at the beginning and then again at the end of the program, students will sense what they have learned and look at the city with a new understanding of what lies behind what they see.   The two days in Udaipur will combine seeing one of the world's most beautiful cities, full of palaces and lakes, with a visit to a community service project working with India's most disadvantaged.