Gandhi Legacy Gandhi Legacy Tour 2014
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Gandhi Legacy Tour 2014 - 2015 December 29, 201 4 - January 14, 2015 December 29 : Arrive Mumbai India Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport is the primary international airport in Mumbai India. The Airport’s IATA code – “BOM”, is derived from Bombay, Mumbai’s former name. The airport is South Asia’s second busiest airport in terms of passenger traffic and the busiest airport in India in terms of international passenger traffic and the second busiest in terms of overall passenger traffic. Upon arrival at Chhatrapati Shivajit, you will proceed to immigration, customs clearance and luggage collection. Continue to the exit where you will be met and transferred to The Ramee Guest line Juhu Hotel , check-in after 2:00 pm. We will have the opportunity to walk the streets of Mumbai India and drive through the more modern city, seeing the Taj Hotel, the Gateway of India, the University of Mumbai, and the Court House. You can see the British influence in the architectural design which displays a mini-version of the Big Ben clock in a part of the Court House structure. We catch the sun setting down over the Arabian Sea. Mumbai formerly known as Bombay, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million. Mumbai lies on the west coast of India and has a deep natural harbor. The seven islands that came to constitute Mumbai India were home to communities of fishing colonies. For centuries, the islands were under the control of successive indigenous empires before being ceded to the Portuguese and subsequently to the British East India Company. 1 Mumbai lies at the mouth of the Ulhas River on the western coast of India, in the coastal region known as the Konkan. It sits on Salsette Island, partially shared with the Thane district. Mumbai is bounded by the Arabian Sea to the west. Meals Included: Dinner at 7:30 – 9:00 pm. The group will meet Dr. Arun Gandhi and Tushar Gandhi over an Indian buffet dinner at the hotel with over night stay. Accommodation: The Ramee Guestline Juhu Hotel Weather - The Climate of Mumbai India is a tropical wet and dry climate. Mumbai’s climate can be best described as moderate temperatures with high level of humidity. Its coastal nature and tropical location ensures moderate temperatures throughout the year, average of 27.2 °C or 81 F and average precipitation of 242.2 cm (95.35 inches). The temperatures in average about 30 °C or 86 F in summer and 18 °C or 64.4 in winter. Mumbai’s experiences 4 distinct seasons Winter: (December– Feb); Summer: (March–May); Monsoon (June–Sep) and Post Monsoon (Oct–Dec). December - The day highs hover around 32.0 °C or 89.6 F. The nights in the beginning of December do not fall below 18 °C or 64.4 F. By late December the day temperature ranges between 28–31 °C or 82.4-87.8 F. The nights may dip to 12 °C or 53.6 F in late December but average around 18.2 °C or 64.8 F. Humidity is low in December. Gandhi Legacy Tour December 29, 2014 to January 13, 2015 Cost –US$3 750.00 per person sharing a room. Tour itinerary does not include airfare. This is an English Speaking Tour. 2 December 30 : Mumbai / Pune / Kolhapur Buffet breakfast at the Ramee Guestline Juhu and then the group will check out of the hotel and board the bus for Women’s India Trust Panvel (“WIT”) Changing lives in a changing world . We will have a group orientation on the way to WIT. Visit to Women's India Trust : WIT is an NGO started by training less privileged and unskilled women in Mumbai to stitch sari petticoats in a slum village to serve the region. WIT has helped many women to develop skills and earn a regular income; this has changed their lives and the lives of their families. WIT empowers women to live with dignity. They established a daycare center for the women working with WIT such that they can bring their children with them and they be fed and educated simultaneously. They do not deny women who want their children to go to school there even if they are outside that region. The women either come into work at WIT making various textile crafts and some women are able to work from home and are paid by the piece so they are motiv ated to work fast as well as doing quality work. At 3:30 PM, the group will drive to Kolhapur by Volvo Bus and enroute we will stop in Pune for dinner at the Sayaji Hotel. After dinner, we will continue our drive onto Kolhapur. Upon arrival in Kolhapur, we will check into the Hotel Raysons Regency. Meals Included: Buffet breakfast at the Ramee Guestline Juhu + Lunch at WIT Panvel + Buffet Dinner at the Sayaji Hotel Pune. Travel by: (By VOLVO Bus – Approx 7 / 8 hrs drive) 3 December 31: Kolhapur AVANI Upon arrival at the Kolhapur Rayson Regency Hotel , check in and enjoy a breakfast buffet. Today, you will visit various migrant workers’ camps; see brickyard sites and learn of the issues relating to child labor. After discontinuing child labor practices at the brickyard sites, AVANI has established teaching locations for the children where students convene in makeshift tent schools. After lunch, visit the site for the AVANI Residential School Gandhi Center for Learning. AVANI is a small and extremely devoted team directed by Anuradha Bhosale , determined to wipe out child labor in the brickyard worksites near Kolhapur, India. Nomadic families migrate to these brickyards for a period from October-May each year and live in very small dwellings without proper nourishment and clothing. All family members, including young children, work for the brick kilns mainly paying the interest on loans owed to the brick owners. AVANI staff exp oses child exploitation and provide teaching in makeshift tents at the brickyard locations. Following these visits, we will stop at the AVANI Residential Home where 37 children reside. These children have been removed from work sites or vulnerable situations and now attend government schools. The Residential Home provides food, accommodations, health and psychological support for these children. Many of the children are first generation learners. Buffet dinner at the hotel followed by a lecture by Dr. Arun Gandhi. Meals: Buffet Breakfast at the Rayson Regency Kolhapur. Packed Lunch (Paratha or Roti rolls with subzi, paneer / boiled egg, potato wafers and a fruit juice) from Kolh apur Hotel. Buffet Dinner at the Hotel Rayson Regency. 4 Accommodation: Rayson Regency Weather: Kolhapur daily average temperature ranges between 14°C or 57.2 F to 35°C or 95 F. During summers maximum temperature never seen to exceed 38°C or 100.4 F and generally maximum lies in the band 33°C or 91.4 F to 35°C or 95 F. Minimum during this season are around 24°C or 75.2 F to 26°C or 78.8 F. Monsoons offer medium rainfall with an atmospheric tempe rature of 23°C or 73.4 F to 30°C or 86 F. Kolhapur winters are during the months November to February and has a very pleasant climate during winters. The temperature lies around 14°C or 57.2 F to 30°C or 86 F during this period. January 01: Kolhapur / Pune We will enjoy a buffet breakfast at the hotel and after breakfast, the group will drive to Pune . We will engage in considerations and debrief about the history, the tour, our visits while on the bus further bonding as a group. Arrive and check into the Hotel HYATT Pune formerly known as ISTA Pune. We will visit the Aga Khan Palace in Pune which is a national monument of India’s freedom movement. Following the launch of Quit I ndia movement in 1942, Gandhi, his wife Kasturba , and his secretary Mahadev Desai were imprisoned at the Palace f rom August 9, 1942 to May 6, 1944. Mahadev and Kasturba passed away while in captivity at the Aga Khan Palace and their samadhi burials are located on the campus. Aga Khan is situated near the River Mula, the palace is a memorial to Gandhi and his life. Meals Included: Buffet breakfast at the Hotel Raysons Regency Kolhapur + Packed lunch (Paratha or Roti rolls with subzi, paneer / boiled egg, potato wafers and a fruit juice) from Kolhapur Hotel for the bus ride + Buffet dinner at the local restaurant in Pune and overnight stay. Travel by: (By VOLVO Bus – Approx 4 hrs drive) 5 January 02 : Pune / Mumbai We start our day with a b uffet breakfast at the hotel. After early breakfast, the group will drive to Mumbai, arrive and proceed to the MarketPlace /SHARE . MarketPlace: SHARE Handwork of India is an innovative fair trade, not-for-profit organization which combines the experience of running a business with a variety of support programs designed to effect real, meaningful, and lasting change in the lives of low-income women in India. Handwork of India works with 480 artisans who are organized into 14 independent co-operatives which produce high-quality women's apparel and home decor. Being in charge of their own businesses, the women at Handwork of India learn valuable skills and are able to earn a living and support their families. In addition, programs offer educational and enrichmen t opportunities designed to help the artisans overcome personal, cultural and financial obstacles.