Lynette Sequeira
BORIVLI, NOVEMBER 11, 2009: To beat the scorching October heat of Mumbai city, around 43 students and 9 members of the Staff of Don Bosco High School, Borivli, headed North to the chilly hills of Himachal Pradesh on October 24, 2009 for a 9 day tour. The aim of the tour was to introduce the boys to the culture of a state, different from their own in so many ways. All the students boarded the Paschim Express from Bandra Terminus and had an enjoyable train journey, passing a number of different states along the way and enjoying the changing scenery.
The winding hills of Shimla set the heads of the group spinning but it was a wonderful experience to be in the hills, and admirable to see how the people built their homes and survived on those hilly slopes. Going up to Kufri on horseback was a first-time experience for many and was quite thrilling.
The drop in temperature at Manali ensured that the Mumbai folk were completely padded up from head to toe. The long drive to the Rohtang Pass was worth it when the group finally got a chance to set foot on and touch the snow. The boys enjoyed the sight-seeing and shopping to their hearts content in Shimla, Kullu, Manali and Chandigarh. They were also introduced to the language, style of dressing, houses and the lifestyle of the people of Himachal Pradesh. The trip was thoroughly enjoyable but along with that, a by-product of this trip was the tremendous amount of information that they picked up along the way. When the school undertakes a trip like this, it makes geography come alive for the students. Without really intending to learn something, the boys are able to pick up so many different things just by observation and through their experiences.
The students and staff are grateful to their Principal, Fr. George Carlos and the Management for continuously organising such educational trips. Thanks of course are also due to Majid Shaikh and Sushant Divekar of Ashish Tours who took care of the groups every need on this trip and helped the boys have a thoroughly enjoyable experience.