COUNTRY: India, Palampur
PROGRAM: UniBreak
PROJECT: Health
WRITTEN BY: Hayley Hall
Colourful turbans greeted us in masses as we entered the state of
Punjab. Amritsar was a six hour drive from Palampur that reminded us
of a smaller, more disorganised and harsher version of Delhi’s chaos.
Amritsar seemed to be the wedding capital, as barren landscapes seemed
dotted with tented palaces. Shortly after arriving we raced to the
Border Ceremony where everyday Pakistan and India put on a show to
close off their border gates. I think the best way to try to visualise
the ceremony is to imagine a grand final sporting match. We arrived at
the gates and were painted with the Indian flag and ushered to take a
seat in a stadium like arena. The Indian guards were dressed in
elaborate costumes wearing red and gold suits with curled moustaches
and fanning gold haired headdresses. Women took the stage and danced
energetically to Jai Ho while the men tried to kick themselves in the
face to show the Pakistani guards the soles of their shoes. It was a
hilarious, entertaining and exhilarating experience for everyone
involved.Colourful turbans greeted us in masses as we entered the state of
Punjab. Amritsar was a six hour drive from Palampur that reminded us
of a smaller, more disorganised and harsher version of Delhi’s chaos.
Amritsar seemed to be the wedding capital, as barren landscapes seemed
dotted with tented palaces. Shortly after arriving we raced to the
Border Ceremony where everyday Pakistan and India put on a show to
close off their border gates. I think the best way to try to visualise
the ceremony is to imagine a grand final sporting match. We arrived at
the gates and were painted with the Indian flag and ushered to take a
seat in a stadium like arena. The Indian guards were dressed in
elaborate costumes wearing red and gold suits with curled moustaches
and fanning gold haired headdresses. Women took the stage and danced
energetically to Jai Ho while the men tried to kick themselves in the
face to show the Pakistani guards the soles of their shoes. It was a
hilarious, entertaining and exhilarating experience for everyone
involved.
After the ceremony we went to see the magnificent Golden Temple. The
Golden Temple was a Sikh temple which glowed under the moonlight from
the 750kg of gold it was plated in. Upon entry we had to wash our hand
in feet in baths and cover our hair with scarves. Hoards of people
lined up in prayer to enter the temple where inside a live band was
singing their songs of worship. Piles of money were thrown into the
centre of the temple which covered the cost of food and shelter for
the homeless and pilgrims. The Sikh temple was open to any religion
having the belief that providing food, water and shelter gave people
the opportunity to shift their focus to something greater. The rest of
the weekend was spent exploring the markets and spending some quality
time in the hotel’s James Bond Bar. Jake found a Dominos and a bought
out a shop of chocolate so “Mr West’s” weekend was made.
When returning to Palampur we finished our last week of placement.
Leanne, Todd, Jake, Damon and myself continued to work at the Rotary
School, filling the week with craft, dance and tutoring which the kids
seemed to really enjoy. Alice had a week off work at the hospital as
Dr Karan and Dr Veena had to travel, so she joined Mo at Kayakalp to
see the power of Natural Therapy. Mo experienced an Indian wedding on
her last day of placement which was an intimate, exciting experience
being welcomed into a small family home and given copious amounts of
food. Dylan continued his 9-5 Physio practice with Amit. One night his
dedication to the job came back to splash him in the face, quite
literally. Whilst being sick Dylan still went into the clinic in the
pouring rain even though he was told not to go by everyone. On his way
home at around 6 o’clock the weather at this stage was torrential, the
bus windows had fogged up and was at full capacity being about 30
people over the limit. When Dylan finally managed to peer through a
hole that he had made through the fog, he realised he was about 5km
past home. He waited a few moments for a bus to return home, but was
left with no choice. He began the long, freezing, wet run home. About
half an hour later a soggy Dylan emerged looking very Grug-like and on
the verge of hypothermia, or as Amit put it “one step closer to
becoming a man”.
This weekend brings forth the famous Manali weekend which we are all
very excited about. We will let you know how skiing/snowboarding in
India is, don’t think any of us expected to be able to say that this
trip.
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