School trips to India are a sure-fire way to broaden your students’ horizons and shake up their perspectives. Here at The Learning Adventure, we have a whole series of subject-specific tours across a whole range of different locations. As with all of our school trips- we can adapt them to meet your requirements plus add our own suggestions. India is one of our favourite destinations and this blog explores a few of the many enriching activities that your students can do whilst on a trip there.
Business visits
India has been growing in a whole series of ways over the last few decades as the country has motored on since independence. Strikingly the country’s GDP has trebled since 2006 which is an indicator of the enormity of the economic growth. This has been powered by a range of things from increased investment, an emerging tech sector to huge manufacturing companies setting up in India. On our trips- we explore the reasons behind this growth and its impact on society.
On our business trips- we arrange visits to a series of companies from major steel companies to Q and As with start-up tech founders. Ultimately, our goal is to give students a sense of what really powers the growth and the ways companies have shaped this. We’ll also look at the societal impact of this shift. We have debates about urbanisation and city tours that showcases how this expansion has changed the face of Indian cities. There’s an expectation within the IT sector that India will continue to harness talent from tier three cities and villages so this evolution is very much still in process.
Taj Mahal
Whilst we like to take our groups off the beaten track on our school trips to India- we absolutely recognise the need to see some of the nation’s highlights. Perhaps chief amongst these headline attractions is the majestic Taj Mahal. The majestic monument was built in the 17thcentury by Shah Jahan as a mausoleum for his beloved wife Mumtaz who died in childbirth. We’ll admire the various vantage points of this building and encourage students to appreciate its wonder with a sketching session.
Camel Safari
India has a continent’s worth of scenery with some truly wonderous variety. This makes it a haven for geographers who have a whole playground of different areas to discover. One place that helps brings the curriculum to life (or just offers an amazing experience) is taking a camel safari in the desert in Jaisalmer. We’ll look at the impact of desertification whilst there.
This is a major issue facing India with 25% of the land currently undergoing this process. This is when the land is no longer able to support plant life and productivity. It is caused by a mixture of human activity and climate change. The UN estimate that 50 million people may be displaced within the next decade due to this phenomenon and many of these are in India. We’ll look at what the country is doing to halt this process and manage the human impact.
Art Scene
Our art tour takes in both the modern and ancient art within India but any of our school trips in India make sure to give students a real insight into the artistic life of this creative country. In Delhi, we’ll visit the big art galleries but our real favourite spot is the Lodhi Colony. This mecca for artists plays hosts to a whole series of murals with political, social and environmental messages. This area is one that has attracted street artists both for its festival but also more generally as a place to advocate through art. Our adventure leader will explain the context behind some of the work and it will help give a real understanding of some of the challenges facing modern India. There’s even a mural that uses ink upcycled from industrial pollution and then used to fill black clouds as part of a series of works outlining the impact of climate change. This is an especially pertinent issue in Delhi where pollution is a major problem.
Buddhism
There are only 8 million practicing Buddhists in India and this figure accounts for less than 1% of the population. However, the impact of this religion is an integral part of the history and culture of India and we arrange some visits which showcase this. These include a meditation session and a visit to the pilgrimage site of Sarnath, near Varanasi. This place was reported to be where Gautama Buddha delivered his first sermon and has been a centre of learning, pilgrimage and monastery ever since.
There’s so many incredible things to see and do in India and it can be tricky to narrow to down towards a certain place or subject-focus. That’s what our team is here to help you with and we can help plan a whole range of school trips to India. Our itineraries here are a good starting point but we can work alongside you in terms of tailoring our itineraries to meet your specific needs. One thing is for certain- a trip to India will be a transformative experience for students! Feel free to get in touch with our team by enquiring through our website, giving us a call or sending a message to [email protected].
