Exciting Study Tour of India

India Study Tour - December 31, 2008 - January 10, 2009

The flag of India

Dr. Asiah Mason, the Director of CPSO's Center for International Programs and Services (CIPS), is excited about the upcoming India Study Tour that CIPS will be taking from December 31, 2008 until January 10, 2009. Here, Dr. Mason discusses what to expect on the tour of this vast and diverse country:

What a great and exciting opportunity! Gallaudet University Center for International Programs and Services is thrilled about this upcoming tour of India. It is going to be a rewarding experience as we tour and study the historical cities in India. India present itself in a dizzying, creative burst of cultures and religions. It is impossible not to be astonished by India with its beautiful landscapes, national parks and mountain ranges.

During the tour, we plan to visit the following cities; Mumbai (Bombay), Delhi (New Delhi), Jaipur, Agra and Khajuraho.

Mumbai

The city is the bubblegum glamour of Bollywood cinema, shopping malls full of designer labels, cricket on the Oval Maidan, promenading families eating bhelpuri on the beach at Chowpatty, red double-decker buses queuing in grinding traffic jams and the infamous cages of the red-light district.

New Delhi

Don't let your first impressions of Delhi stick like a sacred cow in a traffic jam: get behind the madcap façade and discover the inner peace of a city rich with culture, architecture and human diversity, deep with history and totally addictive to epicureans. Both Old and New Delhi exert a beguiling charm on visitors. Lose yourself unwinding the secrets of the city's Mughal past in the labyrinthine streets of Old Delhi before emerging into the wide open spaces of imperial New Delhi, with its ordered governmental vistas and generous leafy avenues.

Jaipur

Have you ever been to a city built in pink? Jaipur is for you! Jaipur is known as the Pink city. The pink color was used at the time of making to create an impression of red sandstone buildings of Mughal cities. The city is best explored on foot and the adventurous visitor willing to go into the inner lanes can discover a whole new world not visible to the tourist-in-a-hurry. Places of interest are mainly located within the walled city. The City Palace complex is the most important landmark with its numerous outbuildings, courtyards, impressive gateways and temples. Across the road from the palace is the Jantar Mantar one of the five observatories built by Sawai Jai Singh. A collection of complex astronomical instruments, chiseled out of stone- most of which continue to provide fairly accurate information to this day - is the highlight of this observatory

Agra

The city known for the famous monument of love - the Taj Mahal. Taj Mahal was constructed by the Mughal Emperor, Shah Jehan. It is said he built this monument in the memory of his beloved wife Mumtaj Mahal. Agra is not only a famous tourist destination but is a shoppers paradise too. There are plenty of shopping areas and shopping malls where one can buy the specialties of the place. Agra is famous for the Taj Mahal made out of Marble, the markets are bound to have replica of the Taj in marble being sold as decorative, gift item or as souvenirs.

Khajuraho

Is a famous tourist and archaeological site known for its sculptured temples. It contained about 85 temples built by multiple rulers from about 950-1050 A.D, most of the temples were constructed of hard river stone.

Interesting Facts about India

• Over 1,000 elephants were used to transport building materials during the construction of the Taj Mahal.
  
• The Himalayas ranges boast the world’s highest and youngest mountains?
  
• Even after India’s Independence in 1947, Goa remained a Portuguese colony till Dec 1961.
  
• The Backwaters network includes five large lakes linked by 1500km of canals, both manmade and natural, fed by 38 rivers and extending virtually the entire length of Kerala state.
  
• The first scientific study of the tiger was done in India by the world famous Dr. George Schaller, wildlife behaviorist?
  
• The place value system and the decimal system were developed in 100 BC in India
  
• The largest employer in the world is the Indian railway system, employing over a million people.
  

For more information about CPSO's Center for International Programs and Services, please visit the website here.