Indian Festivals, Volunteering, Extra-Curriculars and more!

Blog 11: Indian Festivals, Volunteering, Extra-Curriculars and more!

Yesterday at around 11:45pm, the YES Abroad India cohort has spent two months in the country! Being the first YES Abroad cohort in their country, beating Malaysia and Indonesia by a couple of hours, it is always fun talking to the rest of the YES group who still are in their first days to the first couple of weeks in their host country. When I look back at arriving at the hotel meeting other exchange students from around the world two months ago, it seems like forever ago as our whole lives have changed drastically in the short time we’ve been here. It is a feeling I can’t really express. Things I did just two weeks ago seem like I’ve done them two months back, and yet time is not moving by slowly, if anything it seems like it’s racing against me.

In these past two months, I’ve had adequate time to experience so many different activities regarding volunteering, extra-curricular events, and Indian festivals! At school, I played Kho-kho, a popular and intense game of tag. Kho-kho is played with 12 players, 9 squatting on the field arranged in a line, facing opposite directions, touching one another’s backs to try to tag the opponent’s three other players on the field. The teams then switch positions, and then the team with the least sets of three out wins the match. As you can tell, this game of tag is no ordinary game so I needed lots of practice. During the first half of school, I practiced for two weeks before the matches versus other schools. I can chase better than being chased, and in one match, I was being run after, the opponent leaped and touched me, and I fell so fast head forward against the rubber ground that I got pretty intense road burn, but it’s all worth it as it was a fun new experience and would definitely do it again. We ended up being undefeated and placing first in the Kho-kho matches against all the other schools!

Amity-G46 Kho-kho team standing in the back before the final match

Kho-kho line-up

Amity-G46 team

I am fortunate enough to learn the tabla and participate in sculpture, cooking, and yoga in school. Tabla is an Indian instrument resembling the drums but has complexity as you need to hit it in specific spots with different fingers to make different sounds. 

In sculpture, I am using clay to create body-like figures, and then with tools, sculpt details into the clay, creating a final product! 

In cooking, classmates and I learn and create Indian foods, such as Idli, Pakora, Paneer Tikka, and more delicious Indian dishes. I appreciate these extra-curricular activities I do in India as I wouldn’t have been able to take such back in the US.

Personally, I think volunteering in your local host community is a must as you learn and see things like unity, as well issues, from a different perspective in which you would not have seen before without volunteering. This past week, accompanied by two exchange students and other friends, I was able to volunteer regarding raising money for the Kerala Flooding Relief Fund. Before commencing our volunteering, we were introduced to a girl from Kerala, whereupon she has been staying in Ghaziabad for the duration of a month while Kerala gets back on its feet. I was very curious so I asked about her family’s situation, and luckily she told me that her home was spared and that everything was fine, but unfortunately, that is not everyone’s case in Kerala. Therefore, that is why we decided to volunteer for such cause, homes of families have been destroyed and they have no place to stay; most of the state needs to be rebuilt, or as said by many, “God’s own country needs our help”. So we did just that, we took the message to each house asking if they would donate their old newspapers, in which we would recycle, and in return get money to be placed in the Kerala Relief Fund. With three hours of knocking on 14 floors of house doors, we ended up receiving approximately 500 kilograms of newspapers, which equivalents to ₹5000 (~$70), all to be donated for Kerala flood relief efforts!

 Sitting on and collecting the 500kg of newspaper!

My school has an initiative called Amitasha offering underprivileged girls access to education, allowing them the opportunity to learn and thrive in today’s society. I started helping out two weeks ago every Friday after school , as their school hours are different. Although they speak Hindi and I speak English, when I got the question across if they like to go to school, the answer was unanimous, making me realize that I take education and even literacy for granted, not just in the US, but also in India. Both times we created crafts for the upcoming festival, Rakshabandhan, we created bracelets, and the next week, Janmashtami, we decorated clay pots with paint!
Pictures in the slideshow above!

Rakshabandhan is a Hindu festival that was held on the 26^th of August when sisters tie a bracelet around their brother’s wrist to offer safety and protection. In return, the brother gives a gift to the sister; our family gave chocolates, but I’ve learned that it varies based on where in India you live.

Host Auntie tying a Rakhi (bracelet).

Host Sister tying another Rakhi on my wrist!

Two Rakhis tied on Rakshabhandan!

On September 3^rd, we also celebrated Janmashtami; it is another Hindu festival celebrating the birth of Lord Krishna. On this day, some observe a fast, in which I tried to participate in, but I went to another family’s house to study and ate lunch with them. They said they eat as it should be a celebration of his birth with plenty of good food, and not a fast.

All in all, I am beyond excited for each and every day I am spending here in India and I am making the best of my ten months in this breath-taking country!