In the Land of Mist Showers and Flowers – A Trek to the Valley of Flowers

Parivesh Kumar Pandey, Award Leader, Birla Vidyamandir, Nainital sharing an adventurous cum fun-packed outing, which was designed to acquaint the Bronze participants with the concept of Biosphere Reserves and to have an intimate feel of life as it has been in the Higher and Greater Himalayan region.

A group consisting of 15 Bronze aspirants from senior school with two mentors and a professional mountaineer as guide left for a trek to the Valley of Flower on Sept 11, 2016. The Valley of Flowers constitutes the second Core Zone of the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve (NDBR).

Along with additional morning and evening workout, which was indispensable to keep the boys fit to take up the trek of 60 km (to and fro from the road head) at Himalayan heights (up to 13,500 ft.) and acquainting them with the vagaries of weather therein, they were made conversant with all that was knowable so that the trip may ultimately culminate into a memorable learning experience. The participants were familiarised with the background information of the area before taking up the trek.

The International coordination council of UNESCO in its first meeting in 1971 had first floated the idea of the creation of Biosphere Reserves throughout the world and so far, more than 400 Biospheres Reserves in 90 countries have been created. Out of the 18 Biosphere Reserves created in India, the Nandadevi Biosphere Reserve, named after the famous Nanda Devi Peak, enjoys a distinct place. It is the second oldest Biosphere Reserve of India, created in 1988 (after Nilgiri, created in 1986) and the first one of the Himalayas. This reserve, spread over an area of 2236.74 sq. km, occupies a special place in the Biosphere Reserve systems of high altitude Himalayan region of India. Its territory comprises the unique combination of meadows, several high peaks and glaciers. On February 7, 2000, Govt. of India extended the total area of NDBR from the then existing 2236.74 sq. km. to 5860.69 sq. km. by including the Valley of Flowers National Park as the second core zone and adjoining habitation zones as the buffer zone. Before 2000, there were only 17 villages in the buffer zone of NDBR. 30 more villages including the famous Badrinath shrine and Hemkund Sahib have been incorporated in the buffer zone area during the expansion of the protected area. Thus a total of 47 villages are now situated in the buffer zone of NDBR in the districts of Pithoragarh, Bageshwar, Chamoli etc of Uttarakhand Himalayas. Four of these villages are presently uninhabited.

A 17 km trek connects the Joshimath-Badrinath road, some 250 km away from Nainital with this second core zone of Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve. Ice rarely melts here, save in the rainy season. The region where this second core zone is located is called the Bhyundar Valley. It was Frank S Smythe, an English mountaineer, who first discovered it in 1931. He spontaneously named it as ‘The Valley of Flowers’. In 1939 the Botanical Garden of Edinburgh sent Miss Joan Margrett Legge here for collecting the seeds of some rare varieties. She lost her life in this valley in a fatal fall from a rock on 4 July 1939 and is buried at the spot of her fall in the valley. Well before her death Frank S Smythe in his book had described this landscape as "a valley of perfect beauty where the human spirit may find repose”. The words engraved on the grave of Joan Margrett --I will lift up my eyes unto the hills from where cometh my help -- speak of the ultimate solace the human heart has always found in such towering heights melting into the endless blue.

Situated in the upper expansions of Bhyundar Ganga, a tributary of Alaknanda, the valley of flowers has seen some important changes in the past few years. Grazing of cattle is completely banned here now. One cannot take away plants or their bulbs from here. In an active liaison with the department of forests the local youth here have been a grand success in keeping the region ever so clean despite the mounting pressure of tourists and pilgrims who pass touching the base of this valley while on way to Hemkund Sahib, six km ahead.

On Sept 11, the group left Nainital in the wee hours of the morning in two vehicles. It had been drizzling since the night and the entire landscape was enveloped in mist. The group was flagged off by the Principal at 6.30 am. The destination as per the itinerary was Joshimath, a border town, over 250 km away from the point of departure. Situated in Chamoli district of Garhwal Hills it is known as the base camp for those on the way to Badrinath.

Passing through the deep gorges crisscrossed by gurgling seasonal streams due to continual drizzling and gaining height while climbing the successive expanse of central Himalayan summits, the group having crossed the historical settlement of Dwarahat by early noon struck the most fertile tabled expanse of Givan valley. A meandering climb from this valley finally terminates at a vantage point known as Dewalikhal. Driving past the holy town of Karnprayag, known for the confluence of Alaknanda and Pindar rivers, the next stoppage was at Pipalkoti. By nightfall, the group arrived at Joshimath.

The next morning while the Nandadevi summit with all its feminine grace was shining in the rising sun and the faint glimmer of the distant 'Sleeping Beauty', yet another peak, could be seen through the window panes of the cozy dining hall -- the group, following an early breakfasting, drove towards Govindghat on Badrinath road.

A lively settlement once on the banks of turbulent Alaknanda, past Vishnughad - Govindghat is around 25 km away from Joshimath. It is from here that the 17 km long trek to Ghangharia, the base camp for the twin destinations, while traversing the rugged terrain along the Bhyundar Ganga- a tributary of Alaknanda- was to gain the height of 4500 ft within next five or six hours. This distance of 17 km was to be negotiated well before sundown. Here the group was divided into two halves and munching the tuck and later the packed lunch, the journey begun by 10 am after a briefing by the guide at the take-off point.

The entire expanse between Gobindghat and Ghangharia along the Bhyundar Ganga is thickly wooded with Spruce, Birch and Blue Fir. Foamy cascades nestling on towering rocky heights  guarding the entire valley like sentinels, add on to the picturesque charms as one walks the cobbled pathway that stretches right up to Ghangharia.

The advance party reached Ghangharia early in the evening followed by the arrival of the rest by sundown. Ghangharia at an altitude of 11500 ft. indeed is like a sudden outburst of visual urbanity after traversing 17 km of thickly wooded trek. Beyond it is the unending wilderness of the Valley of Flowers enlivened by the splash of colours, rustle of wind stealing its way through the age old conifers and the reverberation of hill streams.

Next morning the group set off for a seven km march to the Valley negotiating a steep climb through a meandering goat's trail overlooking deep gorges. The Valley of Flowers actually is an alpine meadow at the foot of Mt Kamet. At the Himalayan heights, the weather generally remains unpredictable and one often encounters routine showers in the afternoon. The group went deep right up to the moraine in the valley that has an expansion of around 9 sq. km. Besides the Azalea bushes, Primulas, Fritillaria and so many other flowering and medicinal plants the landscape itself was found to be quite enchanting. Intermittent rains, for which the group was already prepared, could not deter either the curiosity or the enthusiasm of the members of the group and by the evening they arrived at the base camp.

On Sept 14, as the group was preparing for the return journey it snowed in the valley and the Twin Mountains marking the entrance to the valley became flaky white. On the way, the far off Hathi Parvat was also clad in snow. At 2 am on Sept 15, the group was back home at Nainital.

For all the group members it was indeed an opportunity not only to communicate with nature but also with the people who have been inhabiting it over the generations as its true custodians. It will not be out of place to mention here that as a product of people-policy conflict the Chipko movement in the seventies originated from this region only. It was also an opportunity to realise, and that too for the first time, that despite the apparent and alleged 'madness' with which the forces of nature are often dubbed, there is a 'method' in it; designed of course to protect and nurture those who love and care for it.  Click here for more pictures...

Adventure Trip to Prashar Lake

Trilok Singh, Award Leader from Harvest International School, Ludhiana is sharing his report on the Bronze Level Adventurous Journey.

The nine-hour-long haul to Himachal started on 15th October 2016 at around 9.30 pm. Nine hours later journeying in two tempo travellers we reached our destination and base camp, Baggi, which is roughly 10 km from Prashar Lake. This group comprised two Award Leaders, two mentors and eighteen Bronze level aspirants.

The trekking adventure started immediately after breakfast, when the participants climbed the challenging track into a beautiful new world. The arduous climb presented many difficulties but operating as a team they made light work of it. The group took a well-earned break at the half-way point, stopping at a couple of houses where they were allowed to use the facilities. The participants made food for everyone with the limited available resources.

At 7.00 pm, as we dragged our weary limbs onto the shores of Prashar, its stunning beauty erased all our aches and pains. The participants set about pitching the tents immediately, before the sun could go down. The participants worked in three groups with one leader. With the help of the mentors and Award Leaders, the participants built fires and set about preparing the evening meal. This self cooked meal by the participants was enjoyed together, sitting on the ground around the campfire. After dinner the participants spent some time together discussing and planning the next day's activities.

The early morning sun heralded a fabulous day and spurred the participants to accomplish all the necessary camp tasks with alacrity. Soon the fire was lit for a breakfast, prepared as a group. The day was passed in many adventurous activities like practicing the tent pitching, rope activities, and understanding of camp craft and equipment. The mentors explained the navigation techniques to the participants.

In the evening the participants packed their tents and returned to base camp ’Baggi’. After reaching the base camp site, the participants pitched camp, lit a fire and enjoyed a small dance party; food was then prepared and eaten by firelight and then straight to sleep as an early start was required the next morning.

Next morning everyone was up at 6.00 am, ready to pack tents and load equipment into the tempo travellers again. It was challenging work for us since nobody wanted to break the spell the beautiful location cast upon us. It was a wonderful experience that gave us a new way to look and explore mother nature.

Never Give Up, The Award Taught Me

My name is Kankana Hambir. I am a Gold Award holder of the International Award for Young People. If you ask about my IAYP journey, I would say it was incredible!

This journey made me steady, confident and optimistic towards my life. I observed people from different walks of society, learnt and shared their experiences, which ultimately enriched my life in many ways. Through my internship programme I explored my own potential and efficiency. The Award Programme taught me how to make decisions, guided me to choose between good and bad, and also helped to make good friends whom I can trust with my life. Working as an intern made me more confident and sincere towards my life. Actually it shaped my life. I am truly grateful to this Programme. It changed my life entirely. I have forged so many good memories that I will cherish throughout my life, leaving the negative ones.

During my Silver Award journey my experience with Narendrapur Ramakrishna Mission for Blind Boys was extraordinary. In Susunia hills, Bankura, I volunteered with them during the activities of our Adventurous Journey and was surprised to see their special abilities. They were fearless in their tasks, which we could not have done even though we have all the right abilities. This not only astonished me but also motivated me a lot. With all the senses we are often disabled, but they are not. Because seeing makes us more sensible and agile and also nervous but they were fantastic by not seeing anything, just feeling everything. It was a marvellous and unique experience for me and also for my fellow Awardees. In this way I learnt and I am still learning. My learning will continue with me as long as I live. And I believe that would be the ultimate tribute towards the IAYP and that is what I learnt all these years, that “we must never give up on ourselves”.

Service to Humanity

“Humanity is not about maintaining a gracious relationship between one another in the society, but it is about building a bond between people in society.”

This was proved by the Silver participants of Coorg Public School, Mysore, when they were taken to the Ashram School at Thithimathi on 26 June, 2016. The twenty-six Silver participants enjoyed the companionship of students by singing and dancing with them for more than two hours. This programme infused the spirit of social service among the Silver participants.

International Award and Me

Ilma Jabeen, a Silver Level participant from Ansal University, Gurgaon, sharing her Award experience.

I am a civil engineering student and proud to be a part of the IAYP programme. It has helped me achieve a wholesome growth; today after completing the programme, I realise the significance and the intent behind each of these sections: Service, Skills, Physical Recreation and Adventurous Journey. As I worked through each of these sections, they inculcated in me a habit of daily physical workout; sharpened my potent skill set; helped me overcome my fears during the course of adventure trip; and I learnt the art of time management as it required a balanced regimen to practice these activities on daily basis.

Being an engineering student, I was way distant from any of the soul strengthening practices as I spend most of my time learning the theories of construction business and design of high rise infrastructure. It goes without saying that IAYP provided me with a life changing experience.

In my Service section, which lasted for a duration of 6 months, I worked for a mandir (temple) on Huda market lane, sector 56, Gurgaon. The temple has a beautiful provision for the under-privileged kids, providing them with a school facility inside the mandir itself; the school had teachers who volunteer to teach them during their spare time. I took it up as my service during my IAYP tenure. The place was at a walking distance from my PG; I visited it as and when I got off from college, but made it a point to have a disciplined visit at least twice a week. Though I was not a regular mentor, however, I tried contributing whatever best I could to it. This engendered in me a feeling of social responsibility and ignited a confidence that my “small part” too can create a difference, provided I take it up with sheer conviction.

It was the Skills section that I took up for a year under the Silver Award of IAYP, simply because I had a serious goal to accomplish under this section. I had always been more of an extrovert person, active speaker, debater and one who loves to give speeches to masses with zilch stage phobia. As ‘the law of diminishing returns’, is applicable to most of the parts of life; my oratory skills had reached a stagnation point and I was unable to morph myself from a good speaker to an influential orator, who had the power to move her audience merely with her words. Under the Skills section, I got the time to put my rigour into review and identify my drawbacks. Lack of intonation was a major bump, my pitch was high (may be by birth) but a good orator must have immense control over the pitch as there is a difference between shouting and proving a point; not all topics are a point of argument, at times it is required to state a fact in a polite, low pitched tone. I worked on it and even today I make it a point to set my tone right before I speak. Words are magical; this was a lesson I learned in one of my soft skills classes. I practiced the art of choosing the correct words to communicate during this one year: I ended up learning that “maybe you should review your work”, is a much better way to put a person on the right track than to tell them, ”You are incompetent to do this or it’s not your cup of tea.” Though I had my roadblocks listed even before IAYP happened to me but it was only because of IAYP that I could dedicate time for improving these setbacks.

My Physical Recreation had nothing to do with joining a gym or hardcore weightlifting. I made it a point to walk regularly, covering a distance of around two km (one way); this way I was able to kick start my morning with a brisk fresh walk. Skipping and cycling were also contributing to my physical activity simultaneously. But I was not satisfied with this and started on counting small steps like using stairs instead of elevators, walking over riding, etc; as it is the small pebbles that give a substantial rise to the great ocean.

IAYP Adventurous Journey was a euphoric experience for me as it was unlike the regular college trips where we ganged up with our friends or the usual family outings where every destination is predefined. It took me to Manali, a 3 days+ 2 night’s journey, embarking from Ansal University’s campus on the night of 26th September 2014. The itinerary was packed with activities I had never thought of doing: camping in a forest, trekking, river crossing, fox climbing, etc. and I found myself thrilled with adrenal rushes. The best thing about the trip was its Practice Journey during which we went trekking to the Aravali Hills near Ansal University to spot all possible challenges one can face on the Qualifying Journey, such as camping; lighting the fire and cooking meals with the meager resources; keeping the body hydrated during long trekking hours; supporting and helping fellow mates if need be; surviving emergencies such as accidents, snake bites, etc. The trip was exceptionally riveting because it had different students from different streams and it was an ultimate platform for the exchange of ideas, bonding and individual performance, which was a real self- evaluation for each and every student on the trip.

When I look back today, I can say that IAYP has given me one of the most memorable experiences of life and I can say it with pride that this Award does shape youth with the right spirit and enthusiasm, shaping their personality and building their character. Click for pictures

Award Orientation Programme at Indirapuram Public School

Kapil Bhalla, National Director and Bivujit Mukhoty, Programme Manager, delivered a Student Orientation Programme on 17th October 2016 at Indirapuram Public School, Ghaziabad. This orientation was attended by over 400 students along with the Award Leaders of the school. The orientation started with a brief introduction by Kapil Bhalla, while the Programme Manager gave details about the four sections of the Award, along with the framework and philosophy. There was a Question and Answer session in which the participants got their queries resolved. The programme was concluded with the presentation of an IAYP momento by the National Director to the Vice Principal. Click for the pictures

Award Leader Training (YES) Workshop

The International Award for Young People, India organized an Award Leader Training workshop at the Award Training Centre on 16th and 17th September, 2016.

The two-day workshop was attended by 16 participants from different institutions across India, including Mody School, Lakshmangarh; Harvest International School, Ludhiana; Bawa Lalvani Public School, Kapurthala; Chinar Public School, Alwar; Pt. Uma Dutt Public School, Dholpur; The Aditya Birla Public School, Kotputli; New Digamber School, Indore, Pathways World School, Aravali; and DPS International School, Saket, New Delhi.

The workshop began with an ice-breaking session where the participants introduced themselves and shared their expectations from the workshop. This was followed by an introduction to the Award, and sessions on its philosophy, framework, benefits of the Award and how a volunteer can play a crucial role in the Award programme. The participants were given in-depth knowledge regarding the four domains of the programme i.e. Skills, Service, Physical Recreation and Adventurous Journey and also the Residential Project for the Gold Level. The training team also made them familiar other important aspects related to the Programme, which included Risk Management, Online Record Book and Brand Pack.

The workshop was led by Kapil Bhalla (National Director), Bivujit Mukhoty (Programme Manager), Priyank Kumar Gupta (Head IT and ORB), Pratibha Kumari Singh (Member, National Training Panel) and Ankit Durga (IGE Rep, India). The workshop included interactive and fun sessions to engage with the Award Leaders. The Programme concluded with the presentation of participation certificates given by Kapil Bhalla.

The workshop fulfilled its objective to make the potential Award Leaders develop a comprehensive understanding of The Award Programme and its functioning. Click here for the pictures

Thank You Award for Making Me so Confident!

Gold Award Holder Anupama Das from Sri Sarada Math, Kolkata, is sharing her life transforming experience with us.

I have been associated with the Award Programme since June 2012 at Sri Sarada Math-Rasik Bhita. When I started my Award journey I was physically unfit and was very worried about the Adventurous section of the Award. In spite of this, I didn’t lose my confidence and started working hard under the remaining three sections of the Award. Gradually, as I monitored my progress, I started gaining confidence and at last got ready for my first Adventurous Journey at Susunia Hills, Bankura. I live in a small village in the Hooghly District and have never been anywhere outside my village, so, it was for the first time that I came in contact with nature outside my village, and the experience of this journey was such that I would treasure and savour all my life.

In 2015, I completed my Gold Award Journey and received my Gold Award at the Gold Award Ceremony organised at New Delhi. It goes without saying that these three years of my association with the Award not only instilled in me new confidence but also transformed my personality to a larger extent. I now see myself as a confident and assertive individual who can express her self to anyone. Sharing a personal experience from my life here would probably highlight my point better. In my society and village, the act of child marriage is very common. Girls are married at a very early age and as a result, they are not able to continue their studies. I encountered a similar situation in my life when my family forced my elder sister to get married to an unknown individual.

The Award gave me confidence to fight against this social evil and I was able to protest against this incident that was going to happen with my sister. I fought with every member of my family and convinced them to stop this early marriage. At the same time I also took the initiative to find a job for my sister so that she could start earning and begin a new chapter of her life.

It was a dark phase that I had gone through but with courage and confidence I achieved success at last. It was not easy to start a career like other girls of my city. But I am happy to write that my elder sister started working in TCS (Tata Consultancy Services) and this year after completing my graduation I too got placed in TCS. Besides this, I have also been involved with Gender Diversity Empowerment Project as an intern from our village.

I am grateful to my mentors and our Award Leader who have always supported me and encouraged me to overcome difficulties and challenges. Now, I can see transformation taking place in my village. By seeing my journey and success, most of the girls are interested in award Programme and want to continue their studies instead of getting married. I feel immense pride in being a pioneer of this initiative.

While I express my deepest gratitude to the Award, all I could say at the end is thank you Award for making me so confident!

Student Orientations by Programme Manager

Bivujit Mukhoty (Programme Manager) conducted two Award Orientation Sessions for students of Lady Khatun Marium School, Mumbai and Sanjeewan Vidyalaya, Panchgani on 23rd August 2016 and 24th August 2016 respectively. Both the sessions were attended by over 90 students from each school. The focus of these orientations was to introduce the Award Programme to the students who are now eligible for registration. Mr. Mukhoty shared the Award experience and life changing experience of the Gold Award Holders with these students and answered their queries.

My Award Journey

Shradha Ramakrishnan, a Bronze Award Holder from Hiranandani Upscale School, Kelambakkam, shares the experience of her Award journey here.

I, Shradha Ramakrishna have completed my Bronze Award journey.

My Service section was a group activity, where we mainly taught under-privileged children some basic computer skills, incorporating other vital concepts as well. For example, on a normal day we would talk about the necessity of staying in good health and give them an activity accordingly on the computers in either Word or PowerPoint. Our talks consisted of a main group talk that summarised the topic at hand, and then we would split up into three groups where we discussed the topic in detail. Some prominent topics discussed were road safety and health. We normally ended our classes with a quick game to gauge their spirits, such as ‘Simon says’. My individual service comprised a day at the Alpha to Omega School, which is a school for children with learning difficulties.

In the Skills section I chose Bharatanatyam. It is a dance form that I am highly passionate about, and have been practising it for more than eight years now. My Arangetram, a dance graduation, was completed in July 2014. To explore this passion further after my Arangetram, was the reason I took this dance form as my skill in this section of the Award. My classes were always very demanding. Some classes involved a thorough revision of the basics and when the teacher was slightly late, it was my mandate to begin some of the crucial exercises for the younger children. Since I had finished my Arangetram, the teacher had taught me longer and more demanding pieces of dance known as Varnam Jathis. These are pieces of pure dance that make up the Varnam Dance. I was taught charis, which are simple, elegant movements that are incorporated in a dance. To keep in touch with my Arangetram dances, we revised them in almost every class. The culmination of my academic dance year was with a performance in March at Tambaram, Chennai, where I took part in the Kauthvam group dance, a solo padam ‘Bho Shambo’, and in the themed dance of Dashavataram, the 10 avatars of Vishnu. It goes without saying that dance is the key to my concentration, balance, discipline and my overall mental and physical health. It is something that I enjoy thoroughly and I explore this art form with my Guru in every lesson!

For Physical Recreation I chose Athletics. Athletics is a sport which I plan to pursue in future and I thought this would be a good opportunity to track my progress. For each athletics session, I spent two hours a day and I went twice a week -- on Saturday and Sunday. The coach gave rigorous training, which increased my stamina and speed twofold. I am currently training four times a week now. The training was unique and sometimes we would go to different places. For example, we went to St.Thomas Mount and we did sprints and other exercises uphill and ended with a brisk 3 km jog. Each class focused on a certain aspect, for example: endurance, speed, power, skill and fitness. I excel mainly in endurance because I am a long distance runner by nature. I had run 10 km in an event hosted by Chennai Runners on 10th January and out of 50 people I came 7th with a time of 52 minutes. On 6th February, the school had a sports day, and my relay team finished third and I finished third in the 100 mts race. The rains in Chennai had affected my fitness as the track was submerged and inaccessible. Getting back to form was another challenge I overcame. I thoroughly enjoyed these athletics sessions and will continue to take part in meets and soon dream to become an International Champion.

The most amazing and interesting part was the Adventurous cum Exploration Journey. For this activity I went to Coorg with my batch mates. We stayed there for 3 days and 2 nights. On day one, we decided to explore nature on our own. We walked up to the Abbey Falls and explored the vast extended forest. The walk there was scenic. After visiting the falls, we visited the source of the Cauveri River known as Thalacauveri, a temple and a historical site, on top of the hill. The second day consisted of major adventure activities. We kick-started with some football and then proceeded kayaking. It was a team exercise; I kayaked while my partner helped with turning. We kayaked for 2 km. After this, the whole group went rafting and I was manoeuvring the boat with the supervisor, again this was also for 2 km. It was a very scenic canal of water. Later on, we went to a lagoon area with rocks forming pools of water, some shallow, some deep, giving rise to different colours. Since it was a team activity we had to help each other in climbing over the rocks. The boulders of rocks surrounded a small waterfall which flowed to a gushing stream. After eating our lunch, we went for a hike to the summit of a high hill. The drive took 10 minutes and from there we proceeded on foot with our mentors. We trekked from one mountain summit to another. The first one had a thick forest which we had to walk through. It is said there are elephants in the area, but we did not see one. We trekked for a distance of 12 km altogether.

After completion of my journey, I can say that getting the Bronze Award is one of the most unforgettable experiences of my life. The Award Programme has given a focus to my interests and helped me sharpen them greatly. Click here for the pictures

Adventurous Journey Report

Gaurav Jalan, a Bronze Award participant from Sarala Birla Academy, Bangalore, shares his Adventurous Journey report with us.

Fifty-eight Award participants of the Bronze Level, escorted by four mentors set out to Kabby Coorg on 11th June 2016 at 8 A.M. The journey was of about 7 to 8 hours including some stops for lunch and snacks. We reached the camp site “The Coorg Institute of Adventure" by 5 P.M. It was a beautiful place with a facility to play volleyball and do other trekking activities. Soon after arriving, we had evening snacks, after which we settled ourselves in our dormitory while some were engaged in playing volleyball and some others in admiring the beauties and bounties of nature. After dinner we had a bonfire around which we sat and had a gala time.

Our next day was scheduled for trekking. We got ready with our backpacks and set out to the trekking point “Chomkund” which was 25 Km from the campsite. Before we started trekking, we were given some safety instructions and necessary trekking advice which would help us in carrying out the task smoothly and safely. After all the preparation we started trekking. It was quite steep and we experienced cold windy weather and torrential rainfall while retreating.

Some of us were privileged to help others in their difficulties. Everyone reached back safely, though many of us had leech bites. But the overall experience was worth remembering and full of learning for us. We faced our fears, pushed ourselves out of our limiting zones and helped each other by experiencing the true spirit of teammanship. Evening was the resting time given to all of us, a time when we relaxed and deeply introspected on our outside the class memorable lessons.

Next day, after the breakfast, we had zip-line activity planned at the campsite. After doing that we packed our luggage and started our journey back to school. Overall we had a good time. All of us enjoyed and had a great experience. The purpose with which we had taken up the activity was served well. Click here for Pictures

Silver Level Camp to Dhana Kunna and Man

Silver Level Award aspirants of The Cathedral and John Connon School, Mumbai completed their Adventurous Journey at Dhana Kunna and Manali (Himachal Pradesh) from 21st May to 30th May 2016. N. Engineer (Award Leader) is sharing a report from a participant’s diary.

19 Silver aspirants left for Delhi on the 21st of May 2016, accompanied by two mentors and two volunteers from The Explorers. From Delhi we travelled to Mandi and continued on to Naggar in the Kullu Valley via bus. The bus journey was long and taxing but the scenic beauty along with singing and team building games made it quite enjoyable. In Naggar, we stayed in tents at the Trek India Base Camp. Initially for the first two days, we acclimatised ourselves by walks and small visits to the local area and Mela.

On the first day, we participated in activities such as Rock Climbing, Plank Walk, Commando Bridge and other Rope and Net activities. We even visited the Roerich Memorial, Art Gallery and their family house, where we learnt about this powerful and influential Russian family. On the second day, we engaged in River Crossing. It was a thrilling experience, done over a crystal clear river in the midst of the wilderness. After that, we watched an exciting adventure movie on Mt. Everest, after which we also had a very inspirational question and answer session with Mr. Sharma, who had trekked to the summit of Mt. Everest himself. In the evenings we'd play with the campsite dogs and played football. The nights were chilly, sometimes accompanied by rain. Very often we'd be freezing in our tents, but it certainly made us much tougher and the stay memorable.

On the third day, we left early and trekked to Stelling, the second campsite. It was a very challenging uphill journey. On the way, we'd stop and filled our bottles from the streams. At Stelling, we collected logs for the bonfire and played with the dogs, cows and sheep. The next day, we left early in the morning for Dhanna Kunnha, located at an altitude of 11,900 feet. The trek was exhausting, and on the way we endured sprains, bruises, bee stings, thirst and aching muscles. We arrived at the summit at 1:30 in the afternoon. The panoramic view was exhilarating, spanning the Himalayan range. We sensed a feeling of victory looking down at the world from that height. From there, we trekked down to Stelling. By the time we returned, every one of us was famished and exhausted, but with proud smiles on our faces. It was an amazing experience for all of us. The next day we trekked again to Naggar and spent another night there. In the evening we went for rapelling, which helped us conquer our fear of heights. Some of us even helped an old shepherdess carrying her tired rams.

An hour long bus journey brought us to Manali the following day, where we went for sightseeing places like a Tibetan Monastery, the Shiva Temple and the Hadimba temple. In the evening, we went shopping to the famous Mall street, where we bought typical Manali caps and shawls. 

The next day, we took a day long bus ride to Chandigarh. Once again, the bus journey proved to be a bonding experience. In Chandigarh, we visited the Sukhna Lake and the Nek Chand Rock Garden. Both were extremely beautiful in their own respects, and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

After lunch, we boarded the bus once again, this time bound to the Delhi Airport from where we flew back to Mumbai. We returned with stronger calves, lower cholestrol levels, unforgettable memories and cherished friendships made in the humbling depths of the mountains. Click for more pictures

Exploration cum Adventurous Journey Camp for Gold and Silver Level

Vani Dugar, Gold participant from Modern High School for Girls, Kolkata, attended an Exploration cum Adventurous Journey Camp at Dharamshala and Khajjiar from 24th to 29th May 2016. Vani is sharing her experience here with us.

The journey started with the arrival of 69 Award participants (Gold and Silver) and 3 mentors of Modern High School for Girls, accompanied by six ICNL instructors on 23rd May. After a long overnight journey from Delhi, the group reached Amritsar in the afternoon. The whole group visited the Wagha Border to witness the glorious Beating the Retreat Ceremony in the evening.

The next day began on a high note, with a visit to the famed Sri Harmandir Sahib of Amritsar, more commonly known as the Golden Temple. As we walked through the main entrance, we were left speechless at the sheer beauty of the architecture, the exquisite workmanship and the beautiful mix of colours surrounding us. We left the temple with a lingering sense of serenity and a memory that shall never fade. From there, we made our way to the Jallianwala Bagh. Our History textbooks could not have prepared us for the emotions that welled up inside us at the sight of bullet marks on the walls. The plaque beside the Martyrs’ Well informed visitors of the 120 bodies that had been recovered, a reminder of the desperation of our ancestors as they tried to escape the shower of bullets.

IAYP journeys are about being ‘away from home, close to nature’ and this could not have been truer in Dharamshala. Staying in tents, with the stars and the open sky and the mountains just an open flap away, is something we always look forward to. We spent three days i.e. 24th - 26th at Dharamshala and perfumed different activities such as Multi Chain Rope Walking and sessions on tent pitching, first aid, leadership and planning and the chance to construct the Burma Bridge. It was certainly a learning experience for all of us. The 12 km trek to the tea garden left us exhausted but with a sense of achievement. We also saw the cricket grounds, officially the highest in India, and the Dalai Lama Temple from afar.

On 27th, after a seven hours bus journey from Dhramshala we reached Dalhousie from where we left for Khajjiar. It is a fact that Khajjiar is considered to be mini Switzerland of India for its breathtaking scenery. During the next three days of our camp at Khajjiar, we did trekking and hiking. We trekked through sunlit meadows to the village of Pukri in the Chamba district. We did get a chance to interact with the locals and do a village survey. We had sessions on orientation and navigation, knots and ways of overcoming hazards with the ICNL instructors. The Camp Night, as usual, was a fun-filled and touching event.

We bid adieu to Khajjiar on the 30th of May and left for Delhi. As always, it had been an experience which was challenging yet satisfying and educational and fun-filled. Click here for pictures

Abbas Ali Baig

Chief Guest at Gold Award Ceremony - 14th July 2016

Abbas Ali Baig is one of the most elegant right handers to have worn the Test Cap in the history of Indian cricket. A child prodigy, Abbas Ali Baig, born on 19 March 1939, made his debut in First Class cricket at the age of 15, during the 1954–55 Ranji Trophy, against Andhra Pradesh.

He played in 10 Tests between 1959 and 1967. In a career spanning 21 years, he scored 12,367 runs in first-class cricket at an average of 34.16.

He made his initial reputation playing for Hyderabad, but it was while at Oxford that he started making heads turn with his dazzling and exquisite stroke-play, fleet footed movement and incredible hand-eye coordination. While at the crease, he was more like a composer directing his orchestra rather than a batsman wielding his willow.

His debut for India had an element of drama in it as the 20-year old Abbas Ali Baig was drafted straight from University into the Indian team to make his Test debut in the 4th Test at Old Trafford in the late 1950’s India tour of England. Baig became the youngest Indian cricketer to score a century on debut when he made 112 in India's second innings. It was also the first century by an Indian debutant outside India.

Following the series in England, Baig was included in the Indian squad for the home series against Australia later that year. In the first innings of the third match at Bombay, he scored 50 and was involved in a crucial 133-run partnership with Nari Contractor. Baig followed that with another half-century in the second innings when he made 58. His half-centuries helped India secure a draw. With over 12,000 runs in the First Class, and a style of batting that captured the viewers’ imagination, Abbas Ali Baig was the quintessential romantic batsmen in an era when India was not known for its cricketing prowess and the limited touring opportunities that were available never really allowed India to exploit his talent to full potential. During a break in India's second innings, when Baig walked to the pavilion along with Ramnath Kenny, he was kissed on his cheek by a young woman spectator, leading Vijay Merchant to remark “wonder where all these enterprising young ladies were when I was scoring my centuries and double centuries.” 

For Baig’s excellent batting in that season, he was named one of Indian Cricket’s five "Cricketers of the Year" in 1959-60.

He was impressive in the domestic circuit, scoring heavily in the Ranji and Duleep Trophy tournaments. In 1966, he was included in the team for the home series against West Indies. He was selected to be a part of the Indian team that toured England in 1971. He was the manager of the Indian Cricket Team during the 1992 World Cup.

Adventurous Journey Report

Bronze Award participants from Sat Paul Mittal School, Ludhiana completed their Adventurous Journey at Neen (Kufri) in Himachal Pradesh from 14th to 18th April, 2016. Ms. Premjeet and Mr. Kuber, two mentors from the school, share a report about their Award journey with us.

Adventure sports are being enjoyed by people from all walks of life in a big way. The reason for this is that there are new sports being conceived every now and then, which are a thrilling and exciting experience. While people these days are so caught up in their social world, tirelessly busy to maintain their digital profiles, there seems to be no time for them to enjoy the marvels of nature and to have fun outdoors. It is these adventure sports that provide an addictive adrenaline rush, which is refreshing and rejuvenates people from the monotonies of daily life. To give young people a feel of excitement and thrill and with the aim of experiencing learning outside the classroom, this camp was organised for Bronze level participants to Neen (Kufri) in Himachal Pradesh.

On 14th April, 36 Award participants escorted by two mentors left the school premises of Sat Paul Mittal School at 5:30 am and reached Chandigarh at around 7:30 am. After breakfast at Chandigarh, the students moved ahead for Neen (Kufri). It took them approximately 7 hours to reach there.

The camp in Neen is situated at an altitude of 2250 meters above sea level on the Kufri-Chail road. This is a veritable paradise endowed with great natural beauty surrounded by lofty snow capped peaks and dense forests of deodar and oaks. The accommodation with Swiss tents, in the forests of Deodar and Oaks was indeed very blissful. Within a span of 4 days the participants enjoyed a new found independence away from home and beyond regular text books. It taught them how to survive without technology and the responsibility that comes with freedom and independence.

The participants were taken for mountain trekking approximately 2200 ft above the sea level. They were briefed about various adventure activities, rope courses, the usage of various equipment for tent pitching and trekking. The trainers also demonstrated tent pitching and tied various kinds of knots that are used during mountain trekking. This Adventure camp helped participants realize the importance of certain life skills like teamwork, compassion, gratitude and individual goal setting.

The participants also performed a number of thrilling activities like Burma Bridge crossing, Bamboo Bridge crossing, Commando Bridge Bush craft, Rope Valley crossing, night trekking and campfire. Every activity was performed by the participants with great enthusiasm and zeal. The participants were taken to a local school for a visit. There, they taught the children poems, rhymes and some music, and danced and played cricket with them. The children of that school were given gifts by the participants of Sat Paul Mittal School. Also, Award participants went on a cleanliness drive to a nearby jungle and village near the school campus. In short, this camp turned out to be one of the most memorable and transforming experiences of their life. Thanks to the adventure section of the Award. Thanks to IAYP. Click here for pictures

Award Leader Training (YES) Workshop

The International Award for Young People India organized a two-day Award Leader training workshop on 29th and 30th of April 2016 at the Award Training Centre, New Delhi for 19 participants from various Institutions including Birla Public School, Pilani; Delhi Public School, Bareilly; Delhi Public School, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow; Delhi Public School, Saharanpur; EuroSchool, Airoli, Mumbai; Jaspal Kaur Public School, New Delhi; Mata Jai Kaur Public School, New Delhi; Maxton Strong School, Banbasa; NAZ Foundation, Delhi; Sushila Birla Girls' School, Kolkata and Vikas Bharti School, Gorakhpur.

The workshop was started with an Ice breaking session where the participants introduced themselves with the group and share their experiences. Rubina and Seema (Sushila Birla Girls' School, Kolkata) briefed about the changes they found in the Award Participants after completing their journey, while Atul (Delhi Public School, Luknow) shared his experience about working with economically challenged youth in their locality. Clifton (Maxton Strong School, Banbasa) shared the economical and social challenges which they are dealing with in remote area of Uttarakhand. After the formal introduction the workshop was led by Kapil Bhalla where he introduced the Award Programme to the participants.

In this experience sharing workshop, over the span of two days, the participants were given in-depth knowledge regarding the four domains of the programme i.e. Skills, Service, Physical Recreation and Adventurous Journey and also the Residential Project for the Gold Award Programme. The participants were also introduced to the technical aspects of the programme, which included Risk Management and Brand Pack.

The workshop was delivered by Kapil Bhalla (National Director), Bivujit Mukhoty (Programme Manager), Priyank Kumar Gupta (Head IT & ORB), Ranjana Rai (Member, National Training Panel) and Vivek Gaur (Member, National Training Panel). The programme concluded with the presentation of participation certificates to the participants by Kapil Bhalla. Click for pictures

Gold Award Ceremony 2016 - July 14th

Achieving a Gold Award is one of the biggest mile stones of your life. It shows that you have the ability, focus and determination to achieve your set goals and pursue them with passion and perseverance. It shows that you have done your share to achieve all-round development and at the same time are open to learn from what the future has to offer. Therefore, it is imperative that you celebrate your this achievement with others and The Gold Award Ceremony is designed to celebrate this achievement of yours.

We are happy to announce that Mr. Abbas Ali Baig, former Indian Cricketer, has consented to grace the occasion as Chief Guest and present the Gold Awards to all the successful participants at the Annual Gold Award Ceremony on July 14, 2016 at India International Centre, New Delhi.

We cordially invite you to join this celebration and soon you would receive an invite to GAC 2016. It goes without saying that your presence will make this event memorable and successful.

Please note that the last date for Record Book submission is 5th June 2016.

Adventurous Journey for Specially-Abled Participants

The National Award Authority organised an Adventurous Journey camp for differently-abled participants of Raphael Ryder Cheshire, Dehradun from 2nd to 5th March 2016, under Special Projects. The group comprised 25 differently-abled participants (21 boys and 4 girls); among them were 4 Gold, 4 Silver, and 17 Bronze participants. The group was escorted by two Award Leaders: Madhu Rawat and Kishan Rana who work as Special Educators; five volunteers: Ambika Thapliyal, Ameeta Upreti, Purnima Singh, Vasundhara, Shilpi and two members from support staff. Four specially trained instructors of the Institute of Climbers and Nature Lovers (ICNL) Kolkata led them on their Adventurous Journey. The camp was supervised by Bivujit Mukhoty, Programme Manager, IAYP. Priyank Kumar Gupta (Head IT) also represented the NAA for this adventurous journey during the course.

The first day started with a briefing session about the journey. The instructors explained the importance of safety and helped the participants understand the different equipment. They taught them how to pack their backpacks and other equipment while on their Adventurous Journey. Next, the instructors explained the process for pitching tents and helped the participants perform this activity. The students enjoyed the learning activity. The Instructors demonstrated rappelling and other activities and showed the use of different types of rope knots used during the Adventurous Journey. Participants also performed the single rope bridge. The participants enjoyed their evening full of dance and music.

The next morning, the group started their journey to Inside Passage Camp Site, Maldevta Village, Dehradun by bus. Amit Minocha welcomed the group and arranged the stay for the participants. In the pre-lunch session,the participants performed on the Commando Net; in the post-lunch session the instructors organised adventurous activities like Burma Bridge.The evening was spent playing different games and sports as per their ability.

On the third day, the participants went for Tyrolean Traverse on the river Song. The second half of the day was for a track where they visited a natural cave and explored calcite and stalactite depositions. These participants enjoyed the campfire at night. 

The last day of the camp started with different physical exercises and team building games. After the physical fitness training and a late breakfast the group departed for Raphael Ryder Cheshire, Dehradun.

This Adventurous Journey was full of fun for these participants, helping build their confidence and exposing them to a different environment. The NAA expresses thanks to Inside Passage and ICNL team for providing support and organising this camp. click for pictures

Annual Sports Meet at The Sagar School, Alwar

The Sagar School, Alwar organised a two-day Annual Sports meet from 10th - 11th of October 2015. The meet was inaugurated by Mr. Shiva Keshavan, Asian Cup Gold medalist, five time Olympian and the first Indian representative to compete in Luge at the Winter Olympic Games. Also presiding was Ms Jayshree Balasaria, Principal, The Sagar School, Alwar. All Award participants from the school participated in the event to exhibit their strength in Physical Recreation. The main attraction of the event was the Military band, which exhibited a perfect ceremonial start. 

Besides The Sagar School (Alwar), Suncity World School (Gurgaon), Delhi Public School (Sushant Lok), Bal Bharti Public School (Manesar), Salwan Public School (Gurgaon), Colonel Central Academy School (Gurgaon), Aravali Public School (Ferozpur Jhirka), St. Xavier School (Bhiwadi), St. Anselms School ( Alwar), V. L. Memorial Public School ( Alwar), Alwar Public School ( Alwar) and Sunhill Academy Senior Secondary School (Kishangarh) participated in the Inter School Basketball matches and Triathlon Championship.

In both U-16 Boys and Girls - Basketball matches, St. Anslems from Alwar clinched the Gold while The Sagar School claimed the second position. Bhupendra from St. Anslems was declared as the player of the tournament in the U-16 Boys category while Miji Jung from The Sagar School bagged the player of the tournament title in the U-16 Girls category. In the U-16 Boys, Triathlon Championship, P. Ashutosh from Salwan Public School, Gurgaon bagged the first position while the second and third positions were claimed by Raghav Dhiman and Emmanual D’souza from The Sagar School. In the U -16 Girls category Sia Prathambir and Manya Gupta from Suncity World School, Gurgaon claimed the first and second positions while the third position was claimed by P. Shivani from Salwan Public School.  Click for pictures

Adventurous Journey Camp under Gender Diversity & Empowerment Project

Arpita Chakrabarty, a Silver Award aspirant from Sri Sarada Math completed her Adventurous Journey from 17th to 21st of February 2016 at Matha Hill under the Gender Diversity & Empowerment Project. She shares her learning experiences with us in this report.

With a rucksack on our back, we started our journey on 17th of February 2016 at 8:00 PM from Howrah Station. Filled with curiosity and excitement, we all boarded the Howrah-Adra-Bokaro passenger train at 11:35 PM, and deboarded the train the next morning at Barbhum station and reached Matha Forest Area for our camping destination.

We were 54 in our group including 39 members from Sri Sarada Math and 15 from All Bengal Women's Home. We were shown to our beautiful tents immediately, and soon after enjoying our much awaited breakfast, the instructor divided us into 8 groups for our first climbing session.

In this new learning zone we all were inquisitive and thrilled to absorb the new knowledge on the unknown subject -- the Art of climbing. The session began with dissemination of information on different types of boulders like slab, wall, over-hanging and roof; details about normal, pinch, side and jug hold; aim of rock climbing, which is to overcome obstruction; how to judge the easiest way of climbing; where and how to take a proper foot grip, right body posture for climbing down, that too without any equipment. All of this was new to us and we were asked to practice what we had learnt by climbing boulders of approximately 7-8 feet high within the allocated time limit. 

In the post lunch session we had a class on ropes, knots and hitches. In this class we learnt about Karnamental Rope (made of lead and poly fibre with breaking strength of 9 mm diameter - 1452 kg), history of Karnamental rope, aim of knot making, the standing and running end of a rope, the basic and most important knots, which  thumb or safety knot and guide man-middle man-end-man knot. We also learnt that in order to join two ropes with even diameter we should use fisherman knot or reef knot, sheet-bend knot to tie up two ropes of uneven diameter; key knot, bow-line or rescue knot, clove hitch (to anchor), timber hitch (to pull up something) were also few more knots and hitches which we were taught during our session. After this, we were introduced to various instruments used in climbing like: rope, scaling tape, harness (sheet, chest and combined), P A (Peary Alen) Shoe (used for rock climbing), plane and screw carabiner made of high carbon steel, figure of eight (descender) which is used to move down quickly, Ascender (used to ascending up faster), tape, artificial stair, pulley, horizontal, vertical and universal piton, friend, skyhook, stitch plate, chest ascender and runner to name a few. We all felt completely drenched in the rain of knowledge, at the end of the session, extremely exhausted, yet eager to learn more in the days to come.

A refreshing tea break was given then, and we all enjoyed the beautiful view of the sunset through the trees, which was just an unforgettable moment. In the evening we learnt some basic rules of camping like: how to have a fresh and encouraging start up, mental preparation, skills to adjust with people around, walking manners, camping manners, communication with local customs, passing information and technical planning etc. After enjoying dinner with our friends, we shared our experiences of the whole day, in which we also got answers to some of our queries. With a wish to have a wonderful and exciting next day, we all went to our tents to sleep and rest.

Friday morning, 19th of February 2016, we went for a morning exercise session. Jogging, free hand exercise, and a small laughing class filled us with energy and “gur-chola” boosted our confidence. Next, we went for our rock climbing class with the instructors of ICNL, in which they taught us about belay method (security method to protect a co-climber with the help of a rope from a sudden fall), static belay (man to man), dynamic belay (with the help of instrument). The instructors explained that there should be two platforms, Karnamental rope, anchor (A), belayer (B) and climber(C) should be in the same line to avoid accident, climbing sequence i.e. climbing command between B and C at the time of climbing should be as follows:

C: Take the slag 

C: Its me 

B: OK/ climb on 

C: I am climbing 

B: Climb up

After reaching to B, C should say "Thanks” to Belayer. In case of a sudden fall, C should inform B by saying "Falling/ Belay tight" etc., we were instructed that we should bend our body at an angle of 30 degree, being a Belay man, we should remember that our right hand (left for lefties) is the feeling or guiding hand and left hand (right for lefties) is the breaking hand and most importantly we should follow the right positioning of rope to avoid any accident. After listening to these instructions, it was our turn to experience these exercises. We climbed up various types of boulders and played the role of a Belay man also. Exhausted though we were at the end of the session, just one glass of lemonade acted as true energizer.

After lunch and a little refreshing chat, at 3:00 PM we went for a visit to the Pakhi Pahar. Going up and down almost 12 km with the view of Matha hill, Asim sir, one of our instructors, showed us a narrow space between two mountains where wind is really speedy and from where water flows down in the rainy season, mountain ridge, basin (a hollow space containing water), spar, arite (vertical ridge), pass (a space between two mountains through which we can pass, which is also used as trade route) and most importantly the Pakhi Pahar. He informed us how old these hills were, even older than the Himalayas and why they were named Pakhi Pahar. With a lot of memories and new information, we went back to our camping site again. In the evening, we shared our experience and lessons of the day with Chandan sir. After that, we were briefed about camping first aid, snake bite, and burns and we were informed about the next day climbing schedule of Matha Buru (Hill). With a heart full of questions and eagerness to know the unknown, we switched off our torches in the tents to wake up in time the next morning.

Saturday morning, 20th February -- we kick started our day with a really funny morning exercise. At 6:00 AM we started our journey to climb the 1200 ft Matha hill. Whenever we were feeling exhausted, we looked at the trail and the bird’s eye view of the scene left behind. After reaching the halt, we were given instructions and showed practically how to climb up and climb down, then it was our turn to perform this feat. We climbed up 150 feet and rappelled down and then we did Terrelian Traversing also. We stored some of the most unforgettable moments in our hearts which we would cherish throughout our lives.

After lunch we were given a demonstration on how to pitch a tent, taught techniques for self-cooking and explained three basic needs of camping (water, shelter and fire). We learnt that there are two kinds of shelters -- permanent and temporary, and temporary tents also have two types -- self standing and assembled. We learnt about various parts of tents (outer, inner, ground sheet, central and guard pole), and how and why a tent should be placed at a minimum distance of 100 feet from water source and how pegs should be grounded at an angle of 35 degree. Not only did we get to know about the different shapes of the tents (dome shape, A shape and canopy), different shapes of fire (star, pyramid and tower) but also how to store fire, how to cook food without any utensil or even artificial help for that matter. Somnath sir gave us some interesting information about mountain people and their food habits. We enjoyed tandoori chicken prepared by Avrajit da, Somnath sir, Souvik sir and then we went back to our camping site. At the camp we prepared for the campfire and enjoyed ourselves the whole night. It was one of the most cordial sessions where all the participants and instructors were sharing their experiences and stories in the friendliest of manner. We danced, sang, recited and performed a skit, but the highlight of the campfire was when all of our instructors sang beautiful songs together and Dutta sir joined them and Chandan sir sang the famous countryside song of Harry Belafonte "Down the way" which was truly mesmerizing. Humming the lyric of "Down the way" we slept in our tents.

Sunday morning, 21st of February, we started walking towards the top of Matha hill to visit the temple named Aranyapitha Tirthadhyam. That morning we had the sun as our co-climber. We became a witness to the sunrise over the hill, a scene always to remember. After reaching the top, we did chimney climbing and after coming back to our camping area, we folded our tents and cleaned the area. At lunch, we had a lot of fun. With all our friends, along with girls from All Bengal Women’s home, we learnt some self-defense. At 2:45 PM we bade adieu to the place with our hearts full of memories. At 6:00 PM we boarded a local train from Barabhum station waving hands to Matha, with a wish to come back here once again! We reached Adra at about 7:30 PM and from there we finally boarded the Bokaro-Adra-Howrah Passenger at 10:15 PM. Monday morning, 22nd February, we reached Howrah at 4:30 AM and came back to our homes when our heart was still saying:

Down the way where the nights are grey, and the sun shines daily on the mountain top, 

I took a trip on a sailing ship, and when I reached Matha I made a stop.

But I'm sad to say I'm on my way, we won’t be back for many a day  

My heart is down my head is turning around, I had to leave a little wish at Matha hill....

Click for pictures