Months of October and November host two prominent Indian festivals of national importance. The dates are decided on yearly basis as per Hindu calendar. These camps are specially organized for those who are interested in Indian history and culture. This period is also supposed to be auspicious for marriages. Besides local festivals, volunteers will have an opportunity to learn of Hindu as well as Tibetan culture and visit some Monasteries.Dussehra (Vijaya Dashami, Dasara, or Dashain) is a Hindu festival that celebrates the victory of good over evil. It is a gazetted holiday in India, which is marked on the 10th day of the bright half (Shukla Paksha) of the month of Ashvin (Ashwayuja), according to the Hindu calendar. During 2018, the main festival falls on 19th October and followed by 4-day long local fair.The festivities of Dussehra are celebrated for ten days. The preceding nine days to Dussehra are collectively known as Navratri and are dedicated to the worship of Mother Goddess, Shakti. Dussehra is the culmination of the Navaratri festival. A short version of the epic Ramayana in the form of Raamlila is also performed for 9 days before this festival in Northern India.
Accomodation & food:
Volunteers will live in guest house with simple conditions and share accommodation with other volunteers. All meals will be cooked and served in guest house. A cook will be there but volunteers are expected to help him and occasionally cook their own meals. Sleeping bag is required, especially, if you are looking for or interested in trekking.
Location & leisure:
Chail is a small but internationally well known town in Solan district of Himachal Pradesh. It is 90 km north of Chandigarh city and 20 kms from Shimla town. Chail offers a number of treks to tourists and a good majestic view of great Himalayan range of mountains. Like any other hilly area, the houses in the area are scattered. The economy of the area depends on agriculture and tourism. The volunteers will have opportunity to visit Hanuman Temple in Shimla, the Naldehra Golf Club and a local zoo.
Months of October and November host two prominent Indian festivals of national importance. The dates are decided on yearly basis as per Hindu calendar. These camps are specially organized for those who are interested in Indian history and culture. This period is also supposed to be auspicious for marriages. Besides local festivals, volunteers will have an opportunity to learn of Hindu traditions.Festival of Lights is a national festival celebrated throughout the country with lot of zeal for 5 days. This main festival, falling on 7th November, 2018, is celebrated with a great fervor just like Christmas and goes on for 5 days. Diwali is followed by other local events like Budi Diwali, viswakarma puja, Bhaiya Dooj etc. In North India, as it is believed that it was on Diwali that Lord Rama along with Sita and Lakshmana returned to Ayodhya after killing the Demon king Ravana in Lanka.
Accomodation & food:
Volunteers will live in guest house with simple conditions and share accommodation with other volunteers. All meals will be cooked and served in guest house. A cook will be there but volunteers are expected to help him and occasionally cook their own meals. Sleeping bag is required, especially, if you are looking for or interested in trekking.
Location & leisure:
Chail is a small but internationally well known town in Solan district of Himachal Pradesh. It is 90 km north of Chandigarh city and 20 kms from Shimla town. Chail offers a number of treks to tourists and a good majestic view of great Himalayan range of mountains. Like any other hilly area, the houses in the area are scattered. The economy of the area depends on agriculture and tourism. The volunteers will have opportunity to visit Hanuman Temple in Shimla, the Naldehra Golf Club and a local zoo.
« I appreciate that constructive criticism may be more useful to you than praise but I honestly have no gripes that I could possibly mention. I can only thank you for the experience that I really enjoyed and will undoubtedly follow-up in the coming year. »