What do UoN students get up to in the long months of summer, when they’re free from the confines of Hallward and essay deadlines? That’s what Impact is finding out. We interviewed English student Maddie Waktare, who will soon be travelling to India.
Can you give an overview of your trip and what you’ll be doing?
My trip to India comes as part of a programme set up by the British Council called ‘Study India.’ It was established in order to try and cultivate the growing relationship between India and the United Kingdom, by giving young people the opportunity to visit Mumbai and Delhi and learn about the opportunities and rich culture that India has to offer. The trip itself is a kind of ‘cultural emersion’ experience, I will be learning about India by seeing and experiencing the country, its history and its culture. This will include everything from exposing my awful co-ordination in Yoga and Bollywood dance classes to spending a few days at Delhi University, visiting the slums in Mumbai and even being a guest at an Indian wedding! Once the programme is over I’m going to go travelling in India with other people from the programme.
“The trip itself is a kind of ‘cultural emersion experience”
Where did you hear about this opportunity and what made you decide to do it?
I heard about the programme through a friend who did it last year. I thought I might as well apply because India is somewhere that I’ve always been desperate to go, but it’s so competitive I didn’t think for a minute that I’d get on it. When I found out that I’d got a place I was ecstatic and knew that I couldn’t let such an amazing opportunity go by – so I booked my flights to Delhi.
What are you hoping to take away from the experience?
In my third year studying English, I am doing the module Literature of British India, and am writing my dissertation on The God of Small Things, a novel set in India. I hope that this trip will give me an insight into Indian life and form a brilliant contextual platform, from which I can better understand the literature on my course. When I finish my degree I hope to pursue a career in writing and journalism. I think that the media plays an incredibly important role in representing information to the general public and therefore, as a writer, being open minded to the way society works in different places and how culture shapes lives is essential. Therefore, I hope that The Study India Programme will improve my ability to represent the perspectives and ideas of people from a variety of backgrounds, who live and think differently to the ways that I have so far experienced.
Have you ever done anything like this before or is it something new for you?
No, I’ve never done anything like this, or even been to anywhere like India before. I didn’t take a gap year, so the extent of my travelling experience, aside from family holidays, consists of visiting a friend in Ibiza and the generic post-A level trip to the classy, sophisticated and scenic resort of Malia. I expect (and sincerely hope) my expedition to India this summer will be a new ball game entirely. I have been lucky enough to visit Australia and America with my family but I’ve never been to a country where the culture is so entirely different to that of the Western world.
Rachel Harrison
Featured Image: Dennis Jarvis via flickr. Embedded Image: Will Jones
