Agra Trip for classes 4 and 5.

Excursions are an integral part of the School curriculum at our School. They facilitate a multifaceted perception of the world and give children an opportunity to experience a camaraderie, take responsibility even as they acquire knowledge. It helps to develop in students a love for nature and to acquaint them with the real happiness of outdoors. It also helps to develop qualities of resourcefulness, self-confidence, a cooperative attitude and leadership qualities. A group of 55 students of classes IV and V along with 6 teachers set off on a two day excursion to Bharatpur and Agra in the wee hours of 11th March 2016 by coach. The journey commenced at around 6:40 am at School and after travelling about a 100 kilometers, the buses halted at Jawer for tea, where everyone also took the opportunity to freshen up. The journey soon resumed and everyone was handed a packed breakfast on the bus. The buses finally reached the Uday Vilas Resort, our lodgings for the next two days, at around 12:30 pm. The students and teachers checked into their rooms and after refreshing themselves, headed for the lunchroom at the resort.

Scheduled in the evening was a visit to the Bhartpur Museum.The Bharatpur Government Museum is a palatial building that earlier served as the administrative block of the rulers of the erstwhile state of Bharatpur. It was converted into a museum in 1944. The museum exhibits sculptures that were discovered during an excavation of some old villages in the area. It also houses weaponry used in the medieval period. These comprise several kinds of guns and some miniature canons. A special gallery showcases a collection of miniature paintings. We also saw a variety of paintings, manuscripts and zoological specimens. After spending close to 3 hours in the museum, we boarded the buses again and came back to UdayVilas. We had an early dinner and then retired for the night. Day Two started with a sumptuous breakfast at the resort. There were a variety of dishes to choose from and everyone relished the wonderful meal. At 9 am the two coaches resumed their journey and headed to what is called one of the jewels of Indias mughal empire Fatehpur Sikri(the city of victory), which was the capital of the mughals for 10 years. Once there, the group walked around the inner citadel, following our guide and we saw some famous monuments inside including the Panch Mahal, Buland Darwaza and the Salim Chishti Dargha. After spending about 2-3 hours at Fatehpur Sikri, we returned to the resort for a much needed lunch and siesta. Except for our youngest children, whose energies knew no bounds and they continued playing about in the inner garden of the resort till the announcement for our departure to the Bharatpur Birds Sanctuary. In the evening at around 4:00 pm, everyone hopped on to the coaches and reached the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary which was barely 10 minutes away from the resort. Nearly 25 cycle-rickshaws were hired upon reaching the sanctuary to take us around for a round of bird-watching. The Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary is one of the finest bird parks in the world and is also called the Keoladeo Ghana National Park. The park includes both indigenous and migratory birds. Some of the species we sighted were cranes, pelicans, geese, ducks, eagles, hawks, pipits and larks. The park is also inhabited by the sambar, chital, nilgai and boars. There was great excitement as the children went along spotting the different birds and animals. After almost 2 hours of qn exhilarating bird-viewing experience, we came back to the resort. At the resort, a surprise package awaited the children. A music jockey been hired to fill the evening with dance, music and disco lights! After a bonfire, the children danced to popular tracks until dinner was served at 8:30 pm. By 10 pm, all bid goodnight to each other for a much needed nights sleep. Day Three started on a bright and sunny note with everyones luggage packed and ready to bid adieu to Uday Vilas. Breakfast was as usual delicious with a variety of mouth-watering food items on display. The buses started at the specified time for the much awaited visit to the Taj Mahal. After roughly three hours, we arrived in bustling Agra, the home of the UNESCO World Heritage site the Taj Mahal. We boarded local buses to reach the heritage site. On arriving, we caught mesmerising glimpses of the incredible 17th century building. We walked through the domed gateway, and marvelled at the exquisite white marbled monument commissioned by the Emperor Shah Jahan in 1632 as a mausoleum for his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal. This majestic tomb looked mirage-like from a distance. As we strolled around the gardens, terrace and inside, we learned fascinating facts about its construction and symmetrical design. We also got ourselves photographed with the magnificent monument. Later, we enjoyed lunch at a local restaurant and then started our journey to Delhi. Before leaving, we did not forget to pick up some pethas from the local market. The journey back was full of fun too with singing and games. The tour was an excellent one with extremely capable guides and drivers! Although it is possibly tough visiting such places with young children, our guides did not rush through the sites or their explanations. Our schedule was very flexible unlike the usual rushed and rigid schedules that most tours have. Mr. Harminder, our tour manager, was informative, accommodating, entertaining and took good care of all of us. He warned us, beforehand, of the hawkers and made sure we saw and did the right things at the right time. It was a wonderful trip, indeed! Ms. Purnima Dwivedi.