Youth run ’16 ( Synapse – DAIICT )

Youth run ‘ 16

Women empowerment is a recent uprising agenda which is grabbing attention deservingly. A youth run was organised by DAIICT Gandhinagar on republic day, to raise awareness about this agenda.

I had participated in the 7km run organised.

I am not a very sporty person but I am a feminist, so on a little persuasion by my mother and motivated by the women empowerment agenda, I decided to take up this challenge. Before the marathon, I was sure that I wouldn’t be able to complete this run and was sure that I would be the last one to complete. But, on reaching there, I realised that there were people from all age groups participating. From 5 year old kiddies to old aged grandma’s which gave me solace that maybe I wasn’t alone in trying a new thing.

This was a very new experience as I was preparing for the marathon, I had to regularly go for runs or practice on the treadmill, I had to push myself to practice and take care of my fitness so I was comparatively ready for the day. For this, I had to also be motivated by my mother, I developed a good habit of running which I managed to maintain even after the event ( even though the regularity has decreased ) Overall, it was a huge challenge to push my limits of what I was capable of physically.

The ceremony began with a very interesting and knowledge – enhancing speech by the mayor of Gandhinagar, who is herself a successful professional woman.

Even though it was tough, I completed the 7km run, and I felt very proud of myself.

Further on, there were street plays by the college students and art work which increased my knowledge about what problems exist in this world, and what steps we could take.

It would have been easy to quit in the middle of the run, or take a short cut, but I chose not to compromise my ethics and ended up learning a new skill of trying new things.

I felt proud that I took up a challenge and was able to complete it and have already registered for another marathon next month.

The entire event not only helped me personally, but also broadened by understanding of the agenda of women empowerment through speeches and street plays.

Reflection 3: Naggar

Naggar had some of the finest moments of my school life. Winter trip which was one of the most popular topics to talk before December. We debated a lot on the winter trip and finally ended up choosing Naggar. There were just a few people who registered for the winter trip and even fewer paid for it. After that many people decided to go there and 85% of the grade was in the trip. The trip was really awesome as it was the first time I was going with my new friends. We all had to travel for two days, which was exhausting, but we enjoyed by playing different games in the bus and train. I lost my shoes in the train, and it was snowing in Naggar. I was really tensed about the trip as I didn’t have extra pair shoes, the only thing I had were my flip-flops. We reached Naggar and had our dinner, saw our rooms. We all gathered  in a room to watch a TV show known as “Bigg Boss”, which was one of the most liked show in the entire grade. I came to know many weaknesses and strengths about myself that I was good at trekking and walking, but I was very careless, I lost many things during the trip including the expensive stuff like iPod. It was really difficult to trek without shoes but I somehow managed to borrow crocs which helped me a little. The most surprising thing was a television in each room. We were in a village and we had televisions in each room which was quite surprising. We did skiing too, it was fun and did two treks a day.

My strengths and weakness were identified by me and others when we went for our first trek, I was the last to student to start as I woke up very late, which was one of my weaknesses. I started trekking and slowly and gradually I was getting bored, so I started walking really fast and reached to the person who was the first one to start and was almost 1 kilometre further from the others, and then I found out that I was not so tired, it was just normal. I continued walking with him and discovered that I am a very good trekker. Also I lost many things during the trip, which shows that I am a careless person, yes I am. I feel so good that I have strengths that I didn’t even knew, and I keep in improving my weaknesses. We supported each other while trekking and helped the people if they need any. We had different competitions or games in which we used team work to win. The most important thing I learnt was clothing I always used to learn clothing sense from my friends and used to take inspiration for my next outfit. We used many tactics to avoid the cold weather, from which some of them really work very nicely, that were also the skills I learnt. This journey had the longest travelling for almost all the students and teachers, but we still went for the trip and we enjoyed the entire trip instead of hating it.

We all had a lot of fun. I came to know the people in my class and how they behave. Had an awesome experience and the new celebrated with classmates is always good.

 

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Reflection 1: Subroto Cup

I am really passionate about football and I really wished to play in the fountainhead team and it was an ultimate feeling playing with my school mates as it helped us in coordination. I perceived a lot of things from this tournament but the most important thing was team work. Initially I was not to excited for this activity and probably I was willing to go to some school for this competition and missing one day of the school, but it turned out to be good. As I said I am really passionate about football and usually I keep on learning new skills my brother and sister taught me this sport and I play this since I was 10 years old. I was a very solo kind of player before joining this school so I recognised my strength and I worked on my teamwork in which I was a bit weaker. I hoped that me and my team wins the tournament and prepared a lot for this we had classes in our hand before the tournament. We had two classes for endurance and the other three classes playing matches and selecting the first 11 players and the substitutes. This thing that I would have liked to change was to just concentrate more skills, passing, and shooting, which was also possible in two other slots.

I came to know my weaknesses and strengths, basically I play forward so I am not so good at defending because of which our opponent team scored a goal. I learnt that during the football game I am very selfish player, I always wanted to score a goal for myself not for the team. Others were helped by me because of my skills and I was a lot more helped by my team as they were way better than me in passing.

Well the challenge for me was to play with my new team, they didn’t know how I play and I didn’t how they play, which was kind of improved when we all played together in the Physical sports slots. I pretty much overcame this challenge, while playing with in the Physical sports slots, but the progress was very less as we didn’t play much. Next time our entire team would have played for more than two to four months. It was also important to work collaboratively as football is a team sport in which each and every player is important, it was difficult though for me at least as I was a solo player, but I managed to play collaboratively. As there were many teams especially Essar and PP Savani (my last school), these schools were the winners from the last 4 to 5 years, which made it difficult for us, but we trusted our team, and we were all passionate about football. The feeling was awesome and even we were 2 goals behind we all were determined and gave our best. 

There were a few ethical issues. Some of the football teams brought players who were above 17 years old although this was an under 17 tournament. Many coaches complained about the age and the teams which brought them were discarded.

I was not too good with interaction as I was new to the football team as well as the school. Well we lost the tournament but whole team gave their full efforts.

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Anchoring for Ride with Pride

Three of my peers decided to organize a cycling event called “Ride with Pride”. They initiated this  to spread awareness about breast cancer. The event was on 6th March, 2016 which is also two days before Women’s Day. This purpose was decided on because even though cancer is very head of, breast cancer is not know of by many people but it is still very common. They asked one of my friends and me to anchor for them because they knew that I had previous experience in hosting events. As the anchor, my job was to tell the participants about the rules and guidelines of the Cyclothon, acknowledge the sponsors, explain the purpose and agenda behind the event and encourage safety and enjoyment.The event was quite successful and the organizers were satisfied. We felt as if our hard work had payed off because the organizers appreciated us and also the participants and members of the crowd congratulated us on how well the event had worked out.

The learning outcomes that I achieved are:

LO 1 Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth: Through this I recognized that public speaking was my area of interest and that it was my strength as well, because I was able to confidently deliver my lines without too much fumbling and that increased my self esteem.

LO 2 Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills: At first when I saw the crowd, I was quite nervous to talk on stage but the crowd was very cooperative and enthusiastic which helped me go on and gave me confidence. When I explained the purpose of the event which was to help people understand the dangers of breast cancer and to honor the International Women’s day which was on 8th March, 2016. The crowds gave an appreciative cheer that encouraged the team to put in more efforts.

LO 4 Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences: Weeks before the event we had intense meetings to discuss the way we were going organize the event, route and duration of the event, other requirements and things that the participants needed to be informed about.I attended every meeting before the event with utter perseverance. The event was publicized throughout the city,  and, therefore, it was on a larger scale and attracted many people. It was a new experience for me.

LO 5 Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively: I had to work under three of peers and we tried to prevent clashes in opinion and always came to a conclusions that served everyone’s purpose. As they were the organizers, which gave them a higher authority I had to work according to them and try to satisfy their demands. This helped me become cooperative.

LO 6 Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance: This event was a way to spread awareness about breast cancer which many people don’t know about. 

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Hindi Divas

Every Year Hindi Divas is celebrated in our school, with a lot of enthusiasm . This event is celebrated throughout all the grades. It used to be a one week celebration and consisted of various activities. We were exposed to hindi by all the possible fun activities. However, this year the celebration was quite different. It was in a form of a friendly game session between grade 12 and 11 for about one and a half hour.  Some students from grade 11 had planned all the activities/games for the session and two of the students were the main coordinator. Aarsh and I had to plan one of the activity named “Yeh kaunsa Dialogue hai”. The game had three rounds and in two of the rounds, the participants had to guess the dialogues and in the third one they had to act the given dialogue. Three teachers were chosen as the judges for this game. Planning the game was easy, however optimal usage of hindi was an issue. Therefore, planning the game was not a tough job, but making sure that we include everything in hindi was a problem. As, a result I shortlisted many hindi dialogues and consulted my teachers and then finalized the dialogues.

I have never planned an activity for a class or took over any leadership authorities. Planning the activity was one thing, but executing was my bigger challenge. I already have stage fear and facing four grade together and making sure that I handle the game properly was my concern. However, another challenge for me was to make the game as enjoyable as possible. It as strictly instructed by the teachers that everything needs to be in hindi, therefore while shortlisting the dialogues I had to cancel a lot of my options. Still, I managed to plan a fun game with the maximum usage of hindi. Integrating bollywood was the best possible way to make this game fun and also inculcate the language. I thought that I might not be able to handle the two teams (grade 11 and 12), but it was not that hard. I went up on the stage and very calmly  started the activity. I learned that if I decided to do something then I can even face my fears. This was a very small scale activity, but it did build my confidence.

Working together is always beneficial. It gives scope for improvements, better ideas , more perspectives and a stronger planning. Aarsh and I were working together. This helped us finalizing things quickly, it saved our time and we could share both our opinions and then later conclude which one would work the best. I could not have handled everything on my own, therefore having somebody to help was very supportive. Working together limits the mistakes and the things that could have been forgotten. When I forgot something, Aarsh would cover up and when he did , I did the same. Working together gave rise to more ideas, and as a result we did plan a very interesting topic.

I took the responsibility to plan the activity, so I had to be committed towards it and not take anything for granted. I had to make sure that  I communicate with the coordinators of the event and my hindi teachers to know about their expectations regarding this assembly. While giving ideas, I made sure I did not suppress anyone’s perspective and also listened to different point of view. As Aarsh and I were working together, I also had to respect his opinion and work with tranquility. I  made sure that no dialogue is offense and the way we addressed each question is not not hurtful to any of the participant’s. Also , we were fair with both the teams, as the chit system decided which team would go first. However, during the game was going on I did say something hurtful to Aarsh and later when I realised my mistake I apologized to him in front of the class.

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Garba Fest

Garba fest was an initiative taken by two of my classmates, and was basically a school event. It was done for a social cause. I was the part of the Organizing committee. Two members were given the duty to manage the finance for the event , one of them was me.The finance department not only had to do the money work , but also had to coordinate with the other departments. Being a part of the organizing committee, made me realize the benefits of working together and the need to collaborate. It was a big event, therefore prior planning was essential. There was a lot of work to do before the day of the actual event. I had to make sure that I am doing justice to my duty and was committed towards it. In the beginning when things did not work like the way I want them too; it got really difficult to manage further. A lot of times I did not feel like  putting in my best and just agree with what the others were planning for the event. When, I realised that things were not going accordingly, I decided to work with Integrity. I checked the progress of the other departments. I saw the finance sheet and the budget needed for the event. I was also convincing people to come for the event. Doing all of this work made me realised my commitment towards the event. I checked the budget sheet daily to assure, everything is on a right track. I communicated with  people from other  departments and checked every single detail.   

Planning for an event, is where teamwork is at its best. The finance department would not work  if there were no other departments. All the people of different departments had to work together to make sure that  the event is  a success. When we used to discuss what all things have been done and what are the pending things, we found out that there were other departments that needed help. So, I did not mind doing things apart from the duty assigned to me. This is one of the benefit of working in a team, when in need there is always plenty of help. I also received help for the duty that I was assigned for.  This made our work easier, and we could assess our own work and make the necessary changes before the event Just few days before the event, some of the organizing committee members and I went to our school teachers to make sure that, everything is going smoothly. When we discussed everything and critically analysed every aspect, we soon realised that some of the  things could been done is a better manner We started taking the responsibility, and made some changes in the menu for the food and added items for snacks. I also made sure that there are enough materials such as glasses for the drinks to be served. Hetvi and I then  made changes in the finance sheet accordingly.Slitting in teams made our jobs easier, as to which part we need to focus on. However, our duties  were not limited to the department we were assigned to. Everybody made sure they helped the other departments so that the planning and execution of the event is accomplished.

This was an event done for charity purposes. Though, it is vital to consider the fact that this event was just organized for one time. So, what about the rest of the time? Who will be helping the ones in need after this event was over?  Also, there were many helpers to manage the  work on the day of the event. I made sure that I communicated with them with respect . During the planning stage,(as it was a group effort)  I had to respect all the viewpoints and also ensure that I voice my opinion with respect. During the budgeting stage I ensured that budget was divided between departments in a way that good quality products could be bought at cheaper rates, without compromising on the quality.

All in all, being the part of the organizing committee made me learn how to budget for an event. I did put in my efforts for budgeting but also helped the other departments such as food, therefore, I realised that I could multi task and also work at my best potential in a team.  The event was a great success.
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Creative Mela – Puppet making workshop

Creative Mela is a yearly event, where all the kids from the school, select the workshops of their interest and attend them. This year I had volunteered for organizing  one workshop for the Creative Mela. I was selected for talking workshops for grade 3 and 4. Before the the event I had to go to some of the classes and collect data as to which workshop as prefered by each and every kid. It was a very tedious job and I had to miss my free slot, but I managed to fulfill that duty. This process was really time consuming and explaining kids about the whole event and the activities available was repetitive as I went in almost 5 to 6 classes.  I was assigned to take the puppet making workshop. This was quite new for me, as I have never really shown interest in puppet making. So before teaching the kids about puppet making, I had to go through some tutorials and learn in myself first.

There were few meeting before the event, which I did regularly attend and due to some reason I had to take the workshop alone. Now that was a challenging task. At first the idea of handling those kids alone seemed very difficult to me. Additional, I did not actually try puppet making before and was not good at it, so I had to make sure I learn something worthy and can pass on the same to the kids. I was baffled at the beginning as to what will I teach and how will I manage, I thought of asking for help , but didn’t. Then I planned what all materials will I be needing and how will I be taking the workshop. This made my task easier.

When I entered the class on the day of the event, I saw there was a lot of material present over there. I checked everything and made sure that  all the materials are present and segregated them according. The moment the kids entered, I got confused, as to how should I begin. I took a deep breath and welcomed them first. They settled quickly and then I began the workshop. The kids were quiet and focusing on what I was telling them. It was not as difficult as I imagined. Gradually it became easy to handle the kids. I divided them into two groups and material accordingly, this way everything was in a smooth flow. However, it was hard to manage the doubts of each and every child, but I did manage that to some extend. It was a two hour workshop , I felt tiring at times but when I saw the kids so captivated in what they were doing it boosted me too.

There were about 10 to 15 kids. I had to be fair with everyone, so I divided the time of the workshop accordingly. I listened to what the kids wanted to do and gave them the resources accordingly. Each kid was given the same amount of material and time. I was catering to all the doubts chance by chance and keeping an eye on all the kids. I did taught them appropriately. At time I felt like screaming or just take away the materials and make the puppets for them myself, but I controlled my feeling and projected an appropriate behaviour.  This was a really nice experience, there was a lot that I learned from the kids. It felt good to teach them and help the kids. I felt proud of myself at the end of the session. According to me, I managed the kids very well and all the kids did a very productive job. We all made sure we did not waste any resources and so we collected all the waste and the remaining resources and kept it at their respective places. In fact, we were done with out session 10 minutes early and had time to review on all the puppets that the kids made. I was a very exciting and a fun session with them.

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Fountainhead school ( Model United Nations )

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I have always been an avid participant in activities which are related to public speaking and oratory so ever since I participated in my first MUN, I have always looked for other MUNs to participate in. FSMUN 2.0 was my 3rd MUNning experience and thus was a comparatively new challenge for me. I was the delegate of India in the committee of DISEC.

The actual MUN lasted only for the matter of 2 days but the preparation had begun a few days prior to it, where I had to research about the agenda given to me, about my allotted country. Through my research, I was able to expand my knowledge about global issues, which I was previously unaware about like the problems in Syria, the terrorism, the warfare etc. I also became more  aware about the politics of other countries, but as a result of all this planning and preparation, I felt confident before the MUN.

During the committee sessions, I had to work with other delegates to form a resolution to make our committee successful. This required patience and collaboration and helped me develop my communication skills so that I would be able to put my ideas in the group effectively and help in reaching win-win decisions.

There were a few ethics which I had to keep in mind, one of them was that I had to be respectful and calm while communicating with the other participants, I also had to use correct factual knowledge about different countries and have valid sources for whatever information I had used as basis for my argument.I also had to be extremely respectful towards the chairs and had to use specific terminology and language so as to not offend anyone (which included not speaking personal pronouns )

This activity made me bring out disciplinary characteristics in me to show perseverance while researching prior to the MUN and also debating during the MUN so as to be well informed, it further made me more knowledgeable as I learnt a lot of new information about different political controversies and histories of various countries.

I noticed a drastic change in the rise of self-confidence I got when I won and could relate this to thinking that oratory was something which I was good at and was my personal strength, I realized that I could develop this skill even more with participation in more MUNs and debates, I learnt new techniques of researching which I have been using in my research for my IAs and EE. I also think that the solutions and the resolutions we found could actually contribute to helping to the agenda someday.

Overall, it was an enlightening and fun experience, where I even got a chance to socialize with students from different schools and cities. I look forward to participating in more MUNs!

FS 3/3_25/9/15

Fountainhead School 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament

 

An Idea was born…

 

FS 3/3 was a student-led initiative by me and 2 of my friends. All three of us are Passionate Basketball Players, so we thought of organising a Basketball Tournament as our CAS Project work. The reason we named it FS 3/3 (3 on 3) is because FS is our school’s name and 3/3 is different format of a Basketball game and is not very well recognised in Surat. The objective was to promote Surat Basketball as a whole. Implicitly one of our aims was also to spread awareness regarding this game, especially in girls category as there are rarely any tournaments which have women playing 3 on 3 tournament.

 

Giving Idea a life…

 

After having a word with our CAS coordinator, we fixed 25th September as the date of our tournament. We came up with different concepts that made our tournament different from other basketball tournament. one of them is the Most Valuable Player Currency. We then designed the tournament logo similar to the one of our school so, the uniformity and standard is maintained. Also, we designed a logo for MVP currency. After doing the budgeting, we ended up with 1000/- INR per person cost. After asking people to participate, we realised the price was too high and to be on the safer side we had to approach the sponsors. In that, we learnt to negotiate and learnt persuasive skills that would pursue them to sponsor our event. And, finally we ended up with 500/- INR per person. I had organised events in past which helped me to organize this tournament with ease. I learnt how to prepare budget for the event, adjust the costs as per affordability, negotiating for the prices to make the total expense minimal etc. We faced minor problems in trusting people for sponsorship and keeping our own ethics of truth in mind, we overcome the problem by letting it go and compensating that cost from other sponsors or the collected fees. All three of us had decided that no matter what, this tournament will happen in the most appropriate, right and the correct manner. We won’t let any cheating happen and make the tournament success by following all the rules and ethics. It was not so difficult rather it was fun handling that department and finding ways to overcome different challenges. I took the responsibility of handling the Organising committee and other preparations that had to be done and the other two of my friends had taken the responsibility of approaching sponsors and making registrations done. Organising is one of my strength which I had identified and used it here. It was very difficult for us to bring registrations. This was the most difficult part throughout the tournament. As the registrations were less, the order for reversible jerseys that we had planned to ordered got postponed. As the jerseys were sponsored, I designed a rough look of the jersey. After the order was placed, we were informed that the vendor did not have manpower and therefore he could only send the jerseys without. Printing was important for us as the jerseys were sponsored. The jerseys arrived 3-4 days late then the expected date. 3 days before the tournament they had arrived and because of its material, when we sent them for print, they could only print one side of the jersey, the other side had the reflected print of the other side. Things were not going right. But, we then let all the negativity aside and overcome that problem by printing on one side only. I designed posters of the tournament and also the banner using Microsoft Publisher. I also learnt some skills which I did not know before. Converting those documents, editing them etc. My art teacher helped me with the banner. Those posters were put up all around the city so people would register. At the end, we ended up with 22 teams. One of the OC members helped me design uniform for the organising committee. Just a week before the tournament, the weather got worse. It rained a lot and new marking on the court seemed impossible. Arrangements on the court also were not something that we could do. Everything got postponed. We had to fix a tentative date after a week for the tournament, being on the safer side. The school workers had a lot of work and therefore they refused to do all the work assigned. All mattered to us was that the tournament to go success. So then the OC and the tournament directors themselves started to work. We learned how the basketball court is painted and marked. We could feel that how hard it is to clean the whole court in the sun and that was when we came to know that the staff worked so hard just to ensure we don’t  face problems. I am happy to take up CAS because it helped me the world through different eyes, interact people, pursue them to participate, know what problems they faced and tried solving them and asking them to participate. Different mentalities of people brought to light which helped me understand people better. Just before the day there were a lot of changes in the plan due to certain circumstances. So, we tried doing Smart work instead of hard work. We swapped responsibilities to make everybody’s work easier. We had teams from different cities that were going to arrive a day day before, so we had to go fetch them from station as well. OC dinner was planned where I instructed my team with all the work they had to do. I had prepared for folders per team which our work not easier but also organized. We tried giving all the possible facilities and luxuries in the minimum amount possible.

 

The day had arrived…

All the hard work from past months and the commitment was all going to reflect.2 teams did not turn up on the day, so we finally ended up with 20 teams. We faced some difficulties on that day as their were some misunderstandings in the date of event with the sponsor who was going to provide us with the breakfast. But then, utilizing our time efficiently, we started off with matches and then served the breakfast a little late than schedule, but we served it on the court itself. So, the teams that did not have matche could take the breakfast. So the rush would be less and the matches would still go on. I had also designed the whole agenda for the day, agenda for both categories. The format was League, so the agenda was also designed according to the group in the categories. There was a team who suspected who had suspected some other team to be over age. All three of us, the tournament directors had decided that I will be the chief referee in boys category and he other two of them will be in the girl’s category. So, the protest had happened in the boys, so I was responsible to resolve the conflict. I tried my best and managed to resolve the conflict keeping all the rules, regulations, ethics and the protest process in mind. We running out of time, the buses had to be postponed, but we managed take out time well and stayed up to our commitments to some extent. We did justice to nearly all the decisions we took throughout the tournament. I had also participated in the game. I played wit my team. In the first two matches, as we did not play from a lot of time, we had difficulties in coordination between all three of us. But, by the last game, we ended up with a fairly good coordination between each other. I earned 3 MVP coins in the matches as well. Though we lost that match, but we played our best. Not only that, the rules of this format is different. We tried meeting up the criteria as well. Finally, the Finals was over. The most valuable player was declared and it was a pleasant end of the tournament. CAS gave me the opportunity to explore a whole new side of the world. I was happy to know that this made me a lot more mature and responsible. I learnt how to cater to different problems. I will use my experience of FS 3/3 for upcoming events I will organise in. We received a lot of positive feedback from people. We also had a feedback banner where people jotted their comments which helped us know what was good and what needed improvement. A quote that I believe in is the quote I will use to conclude this reflection of my Project work.

 

“Basketball is not about bright lights, packed arenas and highlighted reels. It is the way of life. Its the way of life. Basketball the relationship between you and the ball, you and your team mates. If you love the game, nobody can take that from you.” -Jordan  

 

Keeping academic honesty into mind,

Source for the quote- http://quotesjunk.com/basketball-isnt-just-about-the-bright-lights-packed-arenas-and-highlight-reels-basketball-is-a-way-of-life-basketball-is-a-relationship-between-you-and-the-ball-michael-jordan/

Evidence for the event- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7L6_XhDrcOs

 

Activity 11: Winter Trip to Naggar

Amongst the heights of the Himalayan tops and lush greenery with toppings of snow, there lies the village called the Naggar Village. This calm and beautiful village is around 26 kms from main town Kullu and just 12kms from Manali. We stayed at the famous Naggar Castle for four days. The beautiful Naggar castle (now a Himachal Tourism hotel and restaurant) is the legacy of its status as the old capital of the former Kullu Kingdom about 500 years ago. The castle commands an incredible view of the river far below and the villages that litter the opposite bank, with the distant snow peaks beyond the Rohtang La Pass visible on a clear day.

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View from Naggar Castle

As the castle was built years ago, it was like a cultural heritage. I got to learn from the culture of Himachal Pradesh from the castle itself. The walls were made of wood and stones that never broke, and the castle has rooms in the name of the king and his family when this castle was made. The castle had a temple too. I gained knowledge about the significance of that temple. We also ate local food which was something new, interesting and delicious.

List of activities:

  • Treks and walks in and around Naggar.
  • Visit to different temples
  • Drive and visit Manali and Solang valley.
  • Skiing
  • Indoor games

1. Treks and walks in and around Naggar

Treks were the most difficult part. It required lots of endurance and perseverance. The job of being on time, in early morning, for breakfasts, followed by treks is really demanding. However, I was always committed to every activity I participated it. I gave in my 100 % efforts. I was punctual everyday, which gave me a sense of commitment, a sense of responsibility. We went for different treks everyday. When I was in grade 10, I went to a Jayalgarh, Uttarakhand in December. I won the best adventurous award and a medal. Since then, I have been always curious in adventurous activities like treks. I wanted to develop my stamina more and more, so that I could walk at a steady rate, but faster. I explored things by walking fast. Trekking fast is my strength. Climbing slopes is always difficult, but the energy inside me never dies. I take it up as a challenge, accept it, and stay happy. It excites me, and makes me want to trek more.

While trekking, I saw various new things, such as the apple orchid. We came across beautiful sites where Bollywood movies have been shot such as Jab We Met.

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2. Visit to different temples

The visit to different temples was quite wonderful. History says that even an earthquake couldn’t break a temple. the village of Naggar follows Buddhism, however temples of Shri Krishna and different God were also present. That made me realise about the diversity of culture in a small village itself.

Another thing that I discovered about was the splendid artist, Nicholas Roerich. We visited a museum that displayed his painting, and a bungalow close to the museum where he stayed. His paintings represent the beauty and ambiance of Naggar. I got knowledge about the life of the artist.

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3. Drive and visit Manali and Solang valley

In Manali, we did street shopping. I was impressed by the art and culture of Naggar. I bought a diary that represents their art so that it stays as a memory.

Out of the four days, one day was a visit to Manali and Solang valley. We saw a valley that was full of snow. We did tube sliding with partners. It was very steep, dangerous, but so much fun. I was so exultant to do it.

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4. Skiing

Skiing was a dream come true. I had always wanted to learn skiing. I did skiing for the first time. We were taken to a safe path of snow. They instructed us, and we followed them. I fell down once, however, I picked myself up. At first I was disappointed that I wasn’t able to balance, however, I’ve learnt that ‘try and try until you succeed’. The ability to never lose up compelled me to stand up and ski again. It was one of the most wonderful experiences of my life.

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5. Indoor activities (Games, and yoga)

It was risky to go for treks after evening, so we stayed at the castle and played some games that rejuvenated us. We played games such as snatching the partner, and zip-zap-boing. They cheered my mood.

Yoga was something that I disliked. However, I realised that after doing surya namaskar, one feels flexible, and light.

I am the one wearing black track pants, blue nike shoes, and peach jacket.

I am the one wearing black track pants, blue nike shoes, and peach jacket.

During these 5 days, I have realised how important maintaining a group is. While trekking, no one was in a race. everybody walked on their own pace, but made sure to always be together. The whole grade, developed as a great team and didn’t give any opportunities of complains to the guides of the trip. It was one of the best things that our grade has achieved till now. From playing cards together, to playing team games, to sharing different stories at night with the full grade was a new accomplishment.

The highlight of this trip was when I skied and learned about the art and culture of Naggar. Overall, it was a trip full of adventure, knowledge, amazing experiences and life learning  lessons.

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