When we returned from the trek, we had two days to gather ourselves before leaving the Hanifl Centre. Top items on my agenda were cleaning gear, organizing my suitcase, and writing blog posts. With my remaining free time, I had some options. Some of us discussed going into town, which I strongly considered. However, after fielding food and shopping recommendations from Akshay and Gaurav, I decided to stay at the school. We had a full afternoon at the bazaar prior to the trek, and I felt like I had seen it.
More compelling to me and several others was the gym. Once the high schoolers at the Woodstock School finished their term, we had access to an outdoor swimming pool, a gym with weights, and an indoor basketball court. On my first day off, I brought Chris and Simon with me to workout with Luke and his friends in the other Pitt program. We spent two-and-a-half hours playing basketball and lifting, so we decided to stay at Woodstock for lunch. That day, we had one of my favorite lunches yet: coconut shrimp with diced peppers, onions, and cucumbers.
The next day, we returned to the gym with more people: Simon, Chris, Mitch, Eli, Thomas, and Lilly all joined us. We spent at least two hours playing basketball and soccer on the indoor court before doing a quick workout. Getting back to my favorite activities made me excited for a summer of basketball and lifting.
After our eventful morning, we returned to Hanifl for a quiet afternoon. I showered, got food, and spent a few hours in the cafeteria working on my blogs. The highlight of my lunch was a dessert I could best describe as chocolate chip muffin bars. I surreptitiously snagged six of them and hid them in the fridge (only for them to mysteriously disappear later that evening … I suspect Eli).
I had the cafeteria to myself until some of the girls (Anita, Ally, and Hannah) returned from the market. They bought some cool clothes and jewelry, but my favorite purchase was Ally’s singing bowl. I was starting to grow concerned that her suitcase would stay under 50 pounds, and she shared my concern, particularly because she intended to fill it with literal rocks she collected during our trek.
Despite hearing that the girls visited a shop with playing cards (I was gunning for an ornate set of playing cards), I was happy with my decision to forgo the market. I am not a big shopper, and I generally save my money for small things that move me. Moreover, I would still have the opportunity to buy souvenirs in Delhi and Agra.
Soon enough, the kitchen staff closed the cafeteria to prepare for our gala dinner. I went back to my room to change; then, we all returned to the classroom for parting remarks from Akshay (the director of the Hanifl Centre) and Joe Alter (the Pitt professor born in India who runs the other Pitt program in Mussoorie). Akshay handed each of us envelopes containing our WAFA certification, our CPR certification, our Epipen certification, and our course evaluations from Gaurav and Vipul.
After a round of applause, we all hurried to the cafeteria to see what the staff had prepared for us. The tables were draped with lovely green tablecloths, and we were treated with regular plates and cutlery (a change of pace from the usual plates, which were not flat but instead contained several different compartments). Dinner offerings included mushroom soup, mutton curry, a chicken dish (I forget the name), and sliced vegetables. The most popular dessert was chocolate ice cream, but I also tried a few Indian delicacies (I forget the names of these too, unfortunately). My favorites were a strawberry-nut dish and round, sweet pastry balls.
During the gala, I was lucky to sit across from Vishal (a manager at the Hanifl Centre). I had not found the opportunity to speak with him much during my stay, so I enjoyed asking questions about his background and interests. I learned that he was from the Mussoorie area (not Mussoorie, but close) and that he spent several years as a merchant marine before joining the Hanifl Centre. I thanked him for a wonderful time in Mussoorie and returned to my room to start packing for Delhi.
I finished packing by around 11:00 the next morning, giving me time to say goodbyes and peruse the extensive collection of butterfly wings in the drawers of Vipul’s office. We departed the Hanifl Centre at around 2:00 PM, and we arrived at the Dehradun train station around 3:30 PM. Our train ride was set to leave at 4:50 PM, so we had an hour and change to wait. The train station had a waiting room for ladies and a waiting room for all genders, so I found myself standing under a large ceiling fan in the latter.
Once we successfully stowed all our suitcases (a tall task given the limited carry-on space), the train ride was fairly smooth and uneventful. The largest discomfort I faced was the aftermath of a chili pepper in my paneer. When we arrived in Delhi, I was reminded why India recently surpassed China as the most populous country on the planet. We wrestled past throngs of people in pursuit of our bus driver. Eventually, we reached our bus and drove to the YWCA (the same hotel we stayed in the night of our arrival in India).
It was interesting how much more we appreciated the accommodations at YWCA for our second stay having spent ten days in the wilderness. We enjoyed a great, cool night of sleep due to some powerful air conditioning units. In the morning, we ate a hearty breakfast of potatoes, cereal, and eggs. Unfortunately, the potato dish contained chili peppers, which again left me in tears. Shortly after I recovered, we packed day bags to explore the city,
Our first stop was a nearby Sikh temple. Before exploring the grounds, we sat in a lounge area while a tour guide explained the basics of Sikhism. A prominent theme was equality of sex and class. Men must cover their heads and wear trousers to observe the same dress restrictions imposed on females. Moreover, all visitors eat the same food and drink from the same holy water, regardless of class.
Before entering the temple, we donned head scarves and removed our shoes and socks. Even in the morning, the marble was hot on our bare feet. When we approached the entrance, we were instructed to wash our hands in the sinks and rinse our feet in a shallow pool. With our wet feet, we ascended a set of marble stairs and entered the main prayer room. I could not take pictures, but the room contained booming music, an ornate shrine, and a preacher reading from the Guru Granth Sahib (the Sikh holy book). The Sikhs followed the teachings of ministers called Gurus until the tenth and final Guru decided that scripture should guide the people, not a human.
After paying our respects in the central junction of the temple, we toured the facilities where chefs and workers make the soft, brown food (I forget its name) served to patrons of the temple. We also walked past a reflecting pool of holy water, where many Sikhs were resting or washing their feet. On our way out of the temple, we accepted handfuls of the brown food (Vipul urged us to try it).
Eager to save our feet from the increasingly hot marble, we briskly returned to the lounge where we left our shoes. After an interesting but slightly long-winded presentation from a Sikh tour guide, we set out for the markets around Connaught Place in the heart of Delhi. We designated a government store as our rendezvous and then dispersed for a couple of hours. Most of the shops offered clothing, which I tend to avoid buying for others because I usually have no idea if someone would wear what I buy. However, I did buy one small thing (which I will not disclose for gift-giving reasons) at a store I would describe as the Indian take on Pottery Barn.
After just under two hours of meandering, we were all exhausted from the heat and ready for lunch. I had grown tired of risking my life darting across the street to visit different stores. Fortunately, we were treated to an upscale South Indian restaurant for lunch. Unsure about the menu, I asked Vipul what he was ordering and requested the same thing. He and I had paranthas (round, crispy bread) with a delicious dip containing flavors and spices I forget. After trying every other dish at the table, I decided my paranthas were the best. We also tried lassi, an Indian drink that I would compare to yogurt. It was tasty, but a bit strange.
Fortunately, the Hanifl Centre picked up our tab, so we all left the restaurant with full stomachs. The bus ride to Agra was therefore uneventful, as most of us (including me) fell asleep. However, I arose in time for our Agra guide, Vinny (most definitely an incorrect spelling, but the pronunciation is the same), to point out the Taj Mahal in the distance as we approached our hotel. Check out Part 2 for more!