VVM’s Shree Damodar College of Commerce & Economics held its yearly tour from 7th -18th November 2016. Mr.Edwin Barreto, Mr. Sunil Naik and the college G.S. Kaushik Jain were the tour coordinators. The group visited destinations in North India including Delhi, Simla, Kullu Manali, Chandigarh, Dalhousie, Kajjiar, and Amritsar.
The tour began on 7th Nov 2016 at 3.45am with a total number of 87 students and the staff members who were received on 8th at Nizamuddin station, Delhi at 2:30pm. by the tour operator Mr. Sailesh Kamat who had made all the necessary travel arrangements through his travel agency Ashtavinayak Travels. The tour members visited the Lotus Temple, Qutub Minar and India Gate and returned to the hotel.
After a delicious dinner that was served on the terrace of Hotel Sunshine, the tour left for Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. Unfortunately the Prime Minister’s demonetization policy was announced on this very day and all the tour members were affected as most of them had carried Rs 500 & Rs1000 notes.
The cold misty golden valleys of Himachal Pradesh looked beautiful. One of the highlights of this trip was the lift that opened up at the market area of Shimla. There were vendors selling fruits and snacks; big and small shops selling art and crafts etc.
On 10th Nov, after breakfast, the group left for Manali by bus. Manali is about 720kms away from Shimla. At Manali students visited Vasisth Kund- a religious place which is blessed with a hot water spring, famous for curing various health ailments.
Soon the students were on the way to Rotang Pass to experience the snow. The temperature at the Pass fluctuates between 4o C to -2 or -3oC. The tour travelled by cabs, but still felt that this journey was one of the deadliest. The next destination was the Tibetan Monastery.
On 12th Nov, the group visited Hadimba temple. On the way to this temple, one comes across different tourist attractions such as the Yak rides, traditional outfits to be worn, vendors of Kesar, dry fruits and woolen wear. Most of the students and staff members enjoyed clicking photographs on Yak back and wearing the traditional outfit of Himachal Pradesh.
The next stop was the famous Vaishnodevi temple. This temple is one of the oldest, comprising of 4 caves in which the images of Hindu deities have been placed. After the temple visit all boarded the bus to travel towards Dalhousie.
On 13th morning the tour arrived at Dalhousie and visited places like Khajjiar, Gandhi chowk, and Subhash Chowk. Later at night a bonfire was lit at Dalhousie Hotel Mount View. Students and the teaching staff shared their experiences; This was followed by a song session.
On Children’s day, the tour left for Amritsar and reached the Wagah border by 1:30 pm. The sight of armed men standing at a distance of 20 meters each created a sense of pride and security in all. These armed forces controlled the influx of crowd from entering the border area. After a strict security check we were permitted to move ahead to the most awaited spot- the Indo-Pak Wagah border.
A huge crowd assembled to watch the program at 5pm. At 3 pm the whole border was bombarded with shouts of slogans like Inquilab Zindabad, Vande Mataram, Bharat Mata Ki Jai. Citizens of Pakistan also shouted out their own slogans. A true sense of patriotism was evoked. This was followed by the cultural program for the crowd who were indeed the participants.
Any one from the crowd could participate in the dance at the beat of Indian music. The crowd was also provided with the opportunity to run with the Indian flag up to the border. This program was followed by the parade and later the opening and closing of the border gates. The entire ceremony came to an end with the flags being hoisted and the National Anthem sung.
The next morning tour visited Jallianwalla Bhag. There at the entrance the fire torch is burning in memory of the martyrs who lost their lives with the gun shots. Next the students saw the Martyrs Well and the Bullet Shot Spot.
The Golden temple is located very close to the Jallianwalla bhag. This temple is dedicated to Guru Nanak. Many tourists visit this place to see the blissful beauty of the temple and also to offer prayers to Vai Guru.
The following morning the tour visited the famous Rock garden, and the Sukhna Lake and also went to the famous Elante Mall and then to the shopping area of Chandighar Sector 17& 22. Everyone bought items to carry home as the tour would be leaving on the same night to Delhi.
On the arrival at Delhi all were alarmed by the news of a mild earthquake that struck Delhi at 4am, but there were no problems. All the students & staff boarded the Mangala express at Nizamuddin Station and after a two-day journey the train reached Madgaon station at 8:45pm.
