DISCOVERING THE HEART AND

SOUL OF INDIA

STUDY TOUR TEACHES LOYOLA COLLEGE STUDENTS ABOUT OTHER CULTURES

By Charles Borges, SJ

“I can’t wait to get to India!”

“It’s where I always wanted to go.”

These were some of the eager comments from nine students from Loyola College in Maryland as they embarked on a two-week trip to India last December. This was the second study tour I have led to India, in the hope of exposing our students to new cultures and experiences. With me as their director and guide, we visited important cities on the west and south sides of India, such as Mumbai, Pune, Aurangabad, Goa, Bangalore and Mysore.

“Prior to our departure, I read many guide books on India, but none of them prepared me for the culture shock I experienced,” said sophomore Melissa Madden.

“I immediately realized the difference between cultures the second I arrived at the airport. We reached India in the middle of the night, although one would not realize this, as there were countless people in and around the airport.”

Soon after completing arrival formalities at the Mumbai airport, our group traveled by van to Pune, a vibrant town about 120 miles away. Home to intellectuals and freedom fighters against the British rule in India, the city has important historical sites. The pride of the place is the Aga Khan Palace, where the father of the Indian nation, Mahatma (Great Soul) Gandhi, spent many months in house detention for his attempts to free India. Some of his ashes lie in a special urn at this location, though his real resting place, called a samadhi, is at Rajghat in New Delhi. With serene and awestruck demeanors, the Loyola students looked intently at the path where Mahatma Gandhi had walked, the rooms in which he stayed and at the urn that holds his ashes.

“We learned a great deal about Mahatma Gandhi,” said Loyola sophomore Kathleen Schulman. “Seeing how one man could make such a positive impact on an entire country was inspirational.”

The group also visited the Osho International Center, a California-style commune set up three decades ago by Shri Rajneesh, also known as Osho. He made waves when he set up a commune in Arizona called Rajneshpuram, and the novelist John Updike has a novel about that interlude, entitled S. The center in Pune offers courses on self improvement in fields such as spirituality and psychology, and it attracts mostly foreigners who pay great sums of money to be there.

The city also has well known places like the Shaniwarwada Fort, which was the headquarters of the local Maratha clan that fought the British; the Kelkar Museum of Folk Arts and Crafts; and the Peshwe Park, which has novel booths to show water and energy conservation techniques. Many Catholic religious congregations have their houses in the city, including the Jnanadeepa Vidyapeeth, where seminarians study for the priesthood. When we were there it was festival time, and we saw colorful booths with the popular elephant-headed Hindu deity, Ganesh.

While still in the Pune area, we traveled to Aurangabad by bus to visit Ajanta, the scene of third-century Buddhist caves and paintings, and Ellora, home to Buddhist, Hindu and Jain cave architecture. These sites represent the high point in Indian stone architectural and art history and are considered world heritage sites. A visit to the 1768 Bibi da Maqbara, a Muslim mausoleum, reminded us of the Taj Mahal since it had been built by a Muslim emperor as a replica of the great Agra monument.

 We left Pune and traveled 350 miles by bus to Goa, a state that draws hundreds of people to its shores each year. It had been under Portuguese rule for well over 450 years, and one can see the legacy the foreigners have left behind. Amazing 16th and 17th century churches and shrines, and the general layout of the towns, bear an undoubtedly Portuguese influence. We spent four days at the Xavier Retreat House, which overlooks the Arabian Sea. Except for a day’s visit to other sites in the state, our group relaxed on the beach, but we were hounded, as foreign visitors usually are, by sellers of scarves and foodstuffs.

We traveled next by Air Deccan to Bangalore, said to be India’s Silicon Valley, with computer companies, new shopping malls and vast residential complexes. Infosys is a giant multinational computer establishment in Bangalore with branches in most cities of India. We also visited an equally well-known and successful telecom company, Wipro.

Close to Bangalore is the ancient capital of the Karnataka state, Mysore. It is less crowded but has important sites such as the Amba Vilas Palace, the Chamundi Hills Temple, and the Brindavan gardens. Mysore was the site of fierce battles between the British and the local Muslim rulers in the days prior to India’s independence in 1947. One can gauge its popularity by the crowds that visit this city each day.

We spent the last two days of the study tour in Mumbai, the financial capital of India. Unofficially said to have a population of about 20 million, we were amazed by the constant crowds at all hours of the day and night. The Loyola students made a pleasant one-day trip with the students of the Jesuit-run Saint Xavier’s College to the Elephanta Caves, dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. It was about 90 minutes away by boat in the Arabian Sea. The group spent the following morning at the college, learning more about Indian dance, called Bharat Natyam, and its philosophy. After that, they saw more of the city that fascinates with its antiquity and modernity: the Marine Lines, called the Queen’s Necklace and home to modern hotels and  high rise buildings; the Mani Bhavan, a fascinating Gandhi museum and his former part-time residence; and Haji Ali, a popular pilgrimage site of a  Muslim dervish.

Though time limited us to one major part of India, the study tour gave the Loyola students insights into how Indians combine a cherished antiquity with modern advances, how they value their cultural traditions, and how they continue to awe all with their spirit of friendliness and cordiality, despite often difficult living conditions. Travel by bus and other local means of transport combined with the presence of mosquitoes and bugs showed the students alternative means of living and coping.

Their happiness at having made the trip is an invitation to others to visit India and discover her soul, her life and her peoples.

Charles Borges, SJ, is a history professor at Loyola College in Maryland.

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