Trip to Amritsar and Chandigarh

The department of geography organized an educational trip to Punjab covering two cities of the state i.e Amritsar and Chandigarh between 17^th December and 22^nd December 2013. The trip was also a part of course work for Semester IV and Semester VI. 23 students of B.A/ B.Sc were accompanied by two faculty members Ms. Poorti Chaturvedi and Ms. Charu Jhamaria.

The 5 day tour started with visit to holy shrine of Golden temple. The Gurudwara teaches the lesson of egalitarianism and humility. The four entrances of this holy shrine from all four directions signify that people belonging to every walk of life are equally welcome.

Next visit was to Jallianwala Bagh which is associated with one of the blackest day in the history of Indian Freedom Movement. The bullet marks on the wall and the martyr’s well once again made the students remember all the blood and sacrifice the martyrs of freedom fight gave to make India a better place to live in. Patriotism continued as the next place visited was the Wagah Border. The heroic gestures of the soilders at the borders filled the atmosphere with love for the country and respect for the soldiers. Students had great time singing and dancing on patriotic songs and witnessing the ‘Retreat Ceremony’. It was an extremely interesting experience.

Next day it was time for the field work. The course work consisted of socio economic survey of a village. The village visited was Rajewala in Amritsar. Students conducted household survey collecting primary data covering different social and economic parameters of families in the village. Students got to experience the ground reality of the people living in villages of India. In the village students also visited a small dairy and a small scale industry of sugarcane producing jaggery. After the survey the experience of village continued with a visit to Virasat Haveli. The resort displays old Punjabi traditional way of living with ancient styles available all over. Students enjoyed the exotic food, horse ride and live Giddha and Bhangra performance.

Next destination was Chandigarh, the first planned city of India. The greenery and the cleanliness of the city were mesmerizing. Visits in Chandigarh consisted of Visit to rock garden and Sukhna Lake. Conservation being important in today’s global needs for resources and it becomes important for students to know the practical methods of conservation. Rock garden provides a distinguished example of recycling. The entire garden is made of recycled materials like oil drums, tiles, bricks, bottles, pots, crockery, bangles, electrical fittings, tubes etc. The waterfall in the premises uses rainwater that is recycled and kept throughout the year. Rock garden visit was followed by visit to Sukhna Lake.

Along with visits to various places students also enjoyed shopping and look around in local markets. Students visited Hall market and Kapra market in Amritsar and Sector 17 and Sector 22 in Chandigarh.

The experience of the students was wonderful. The understanding students got on the field and places visited had a long lasting impact on them and they would cherish the memories throughout their lives.  

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