Temples and Tying Saris

Blogs to follow, photos to keep you going !  We have been so busy apologies for the delayed blogs.

🇮🇳 Alandi, Ishwari and Tulapur 🇮🇳

We woke up as quick as a cheetah because we were off to experience all of the famous Hindu temples. At 7:00 we got the coach and started our journey. Firstly, we drove to Alandi (which was a Shiva and Ganesh temple). We got off to see a sacred river which people were washing their clothes in and maybe even swimming in (as they believe that it washes all your sins away) Everyone followed Shweta (a Sangam volunteer in training) who lead us to the temple while giving us facts along the way. For example, did you know that the majority of Hindu gods have a sidekick?

While we were walking, we had to look our for the ‘turtles’ as they are sacred because it was one of the Hindu God’s sidekicks. Once we had finally reached the temple, we found another turtle which people were touching as they believe that the turtle shell is so hard that it could handle all your problems. We had to line up in a queue and then enter to see a shrine of Shiva which we had to namaste to. When we came out, we saw a beautiful Rangoli design.

Secondly, we drove again this time to Tulapur which was another temple for Shiva. Because of this visit we learnt what Sangam meant ( two or more rivers joining together). Entering through the gates, we saw statues of warriors. Shweta talked about the history and objects in the shrine and what they meant/what they were for. We went inside and saw where and what they pray to. After that we came outside and took some pictures of Sangam and then went down the steps near the river. Most people went across and saw the view but some stayed behind because we were too tired. We finally got up the stairs and decided to stop and have a break at a café and have some food and chai. After that we went and got back on the coach and headed off.

Lastly, we went to one off  Sangam’s community partners, Ishwari which main purpose is to empower women. We walked down the road and saw different kinds of animals that they own like baby rabbits, dogs, chickens and the history about the animals. We then found out how they help women, how they educate them and how they help them to get their life back on track (like people who had trouble with education or couldn’t pay for it). They treated us to a lovely lunch, which had: spring rolls (my favourite), salad, soup, bread and more! After our delicious feast, we then looked around the arts and crafts they handmade themselves and the money went towards their charity.

🇮🇳 Bollywood dancing 🇮🇳

After having a long, hot ride back we finally got to sangam and had a break to relax and go in the pool. After dinner we then got ready for our Bollywood dancing, I tried dancing in a sari which was pretty hard but eventually you get used to it. We started with traditional stick dancing, which was basically banging each other’s sticks together but it was actually quite complicated! Then we moved onto my favourite bit, the Bollywood dancing! Uzma (staff member of Sangam) helped us to dance to a new Bollywood film called “Simba.” Everyone had the time of their lives and really enjoyed it, we enjoyed it so much that everyone fell straight to sleep.

By the amazing Lily and the fabulous Julia🍓

Temple Visits

Indian Afternoon

Indian Dancing