Today, I Made...: Day 24, 25 and 26

Day 24 did not consist of much. We popped into Paldi to get our films processed and were met with more reasons as to why they could not be done. This delays our work; we cannot see what we have done, what is working and what’s not. We chatting and Ishaan again, before shouting at him to get to work, all the students have their jury’s this week!

Today was a brilliant day. We went to Adalaj Wav Step well , and beautifully ornate five storey well built by Queen Rudabai in 1499. It has three entrances, leading to a huge platform, (with holes in the floor) again, decorated with ornate carvings of gods, shrines and the karma sutra.

We walked down the tiny and slightly terrifying spiral staircases to reach some of the lower levels on the opposite side from the main well. The entire place was brilliant, it was serene and a feast for the eyes (and camera – of course)

The well is slowly drying up and has been for years, leaving the murky, blue water almost down to the coin covered, metal grate.

We left the step well, and headed back toward campus, stopping in InfoCity for a cold drink and an ice cream, to drop our bags and cameras off.

Akshardham, a Swaminarayan Temple does not allow cameras, phones, bags, anything through the gates, so knowing this we took our money belts and nothing else. We got there and cued for security (much like an airport). I have to say that it was much more thorough – the lady in the cubicle made VERY sure I have nothing hidden in my bra or pants – that’s for sure!

It was a beautiful place, and Adam, Hannah and I were all disappointed not to be able to photograph it. I doubt my (lack of) words will be able to do it justice. The temple was a dusky pink, again with carvings (less ornate than the step well but not any less striking!), inside the doorway a large golden god was sat and consumed the entire room. The route around the temple when upstairs and down, with stories about the temple and the various people associated with it. Unfortunately many of the stories were in Hindi, without English translations, so we did not understand a lot of it!

We walked through the gardens and took our places on the large stands for the light and water show. The forty-five minute show consisted of lasers, fire and fountains, telling a story of a young boy. Again, it was in Hindi, so we sat back and watched the beautiful colours, patterns and the droplets of water hitting the lasers, making it look like glitter!

We got back to campus at about nine, and dashed to the mess for some dinner, we were invited to watch the animations that students had made for their recent assessments.

After the animations (which were awesome) I ran a bookbinding workshop. There were twelve students eager to learn, which was great! I have been asked to do another one before we leave.

The night was not over yet – the workshop finished at one in the morning, but we were invited to a party that some of the students were putting on to celebrate the end of the semester.

At five thirty we crawled into bed, slightly worse for wear on the illegal whisky the students had procured for the night.

Day 26.

I slept most the morning, and then heading into Paldi to sort out images for the mini show. We are all putting up a few images that we have taken from the trip for the others to see.

Both Hannah and I are knackered, so are crashing out for the evening with House!

I will post more pictures soon - need to grab workshop ones from Hannah and Sandip. :)

C x