On Thursday, January 24th we had the opportunity of visiting Daulat Ram, an all women’s college in Delhi. Immediately after departing the bus, we were greeted with a warm welcome complete with flower garlands made of yellow and orange marigolds and received a yellow tilaka (a Hindu blessing) on our foreheads. They had an entire welcoming ceremony planned for us which included a sung prayer invoking a blessing of Lord Ganesha, a Hindu god known for removing obstacles from one’s path. The next part of the ceremony included a woman performing a fusion of a classical Indian dance, which she then told us was a form of prayer. Once the president of the college arrived, there was a lighting of the lamp and an exchange of gifts from both colleges. Professor Gross then gave a talk on the importance of liberal arts education and higher education in the 21st century. After the talk, there was a brief Q & A which allowed us to see some similarities and differences between St. Olaf and Daulat Ram. Many of the philosophies of high impact practices (internships, independent research projects, study abroad, etc.) were held in high regard by both sides.
Since we visited the day before Republic Day, the day India formed its own constitution, we were able to attend a Republic Day ceremony put on by the students of the college. The ceremony began with a sitar performance, followed by the principal’s address. She spoke much about what it means to be an Indian citizen, and the importance of partaking in Indian values and ethics, which focused on love, nonviolence, and being responsible citizens of the world. Then, the school’s theater company presented a short play on the pride they felt in being Indian citizens. Although much of the play was in Hindi, we were able to extract meaning from some of the English words. They spoke about the importance of rights in daily life, rights to freedom of religion and culture, rights to education, etc. At the end of the play, they all individually said that they are proud of their country. We also got to view an Indian Classical Dance which included three dancers. In the last dance they performed, they created the Indian flag using their scarves. At the very end of the ceremony, everyone rose their right hand and took the voters pledge before standing and singing the national anthem. The crowd erupted with cheers, and we could all feel the patriotism among the students and staff.
After dispersing, we followed some students to the psychology department and received samosas and soup. They were all very generous, asking us if we needed anything, showing their immense hospitality which has been a common thread throughout our entire stay in India. Following the break, we were split up into two different groups and participated in two different art projects. Half of us created Warli paintings, a traditional Northern art form which includes stick drawings. The others colored geometric drawings of fish, following the Madhubani art form. This art form involves drawing symmetry and nature.
We then took a break from our artwork to have a delicious lunch provided by the college. This was our first time eating Northern Indian food. We noticed it was less spicy than food in the South, but no less delicious. We were then taken to the college’s gardens where we saw they grew their own food and practiced self-sustainability in their meal preparations. We also saw beautiful flowers being grown on the college campus, which was amazing since most of us are not used to seeing flowers bloom in January!
Our group then returned to our art projects for a little bit before going to a classroom and participating in a dialogue with some of the psychology students. The dialogue began with Professor Khosla, a psychology professor and dear friend of Professor Gross, facilitating the discussion. It was interesting to get their perspective, especially as students of an all female college. Topics ranged from diversity in class curriculum, personal fears and beliefs, body image, and female empowerment. This reminded us of a 2013 article we read for class, The Ecology of Adolescence in India. This article brought up the inequality between education for males vs females, and how location (rural vs urban) also plays a role in education levels. Our talk with the students focused on female empowerment and the importance of education for all. The students told us how being at an all women’s college created strong feelings of girl power and a bond of trust with their fellow students. We ended the discussion with a light-hearted improv game lead by our very own Tara and Max. The game allowed students from both colleges to perform an improvised skit together which left us all laughing and in high spirits.
This was an amazing day and we loved meeting and getting to know many of the psychology students! In talking to them, it was apparent that we shared more similarities in our beliefs and values than differences. Their kindness and hospitality was overwhelming, as was their level of enthusiasm to interact with us. Many of us friended each other on Facebook, which we hope will allow us to keep in touch even after our travels in India are over.
Grace and Teiana
