Tate Ross, 11th Grader Newton South High School
Today we traveled to the Amber Fort, City Palace, and sun dial observatory before ending the day with a little shopping and a Bollywood film. At the start of the day we entered a historic fort. We saw beautiful architecture from ancient times of a Jaipur-based Hindu empire. Wide arches with flower patterns and marble floors were everywhere. The palace was beautiful and outstanding leading my eyes to widened with joy.
During our time at the sun dial observatory, we learned how an ancient Indian civilization used both sun and shadows to calculate the time. Then we went to see the Bollywood film at a local theatre. The movie’s plot was about a lawyer who didn’t help a young women whose husband was killed by state. Soon he realizes that this lady ended up committing suicide. This leads him to help the deceased women and her cause. Watching the film I saw the culture difference between the way Americans and Indians watch movies in public. The Indians were standing, clapping, shouting, talking and taking pictures which would be odd in America.
However, on this day my favorite part was riding elephants in to the Amber Fort. The view on the majestic animal was exciting and gorgeous. Seeing vast land beyond the valley and into the Aravalli Mountains was inspiring and fun. Enjoying ourselves is key to this trip if we want to remain happy and calm among all the chaos. Smiling can say a thousand words and today that’s what my smile did when I was on the elephants. Until next time, we’ll keep exploring India!
