BHUTAN and the GANGES RIVER WITH FOUR NIGHTS ON THE DELUXE GANGES VOYAGER March 5–17, 2019 STUDY LEADER AnnApurnA GArimellA is a Delhi-based designer and an art historian. Her research focuses on late medieval indic architecture and the history and practices of vernacular art forms in india after independence. She heads Jackfruit Research and Design, an organization with a specialized portfolio of design, research, and curation. Jackfruit’s recent curatorial projects include Vernacular, in the Contemporary (Devi art Foundation, New Delhi); Faith: Manu Parekh in Benaras 1980- 2012 (art alive, New Delhi); Drawing 2014 (Gallery Espace, New Delhi); Mutable: Ceramic and Clay Art in India Since 1947 (Piramal Museum of art, 2017); and Barefoot College of Craft in Goa (Serendipity arts Festival, 2017). Dr. annapurna’s most recent book is about a collaboration between a Rajasthani miniature painter and an expatriate american photographer and is titled The Artful Life of R. Vijay (Serindia, 2016). in 2017, she was awarded the India Today Emerging Curator of the Year award. Garimella is also the founder and managing trustee of art, Resources and Teaching Trust, a not-for-profit organization that runs a public art library, conducts independent research projects, and does teaching and advisement for college and university students and the general public. Visit the Taktsang (Tiger’s Nest) Monastery, breathtakingly perched on a mountainside high above Bhutan’s Paro Valley (cover), and marvel at the massive golden Buddha Dordenma statue in Bhutan’s capital, Thimphu (left). The impressive concentration of Hindu temples at Kalna (back cover) includes detailed terra cotta ornamentation. DEAR MIT ALUMNI AND FRIENDS, This classic program combines an intimate look at the spectacular natural beauty, fascinating cultural traditions, and charming people of Bhutan with a four-night cruise aboard the Ganges Voyager riverboat along the venerated Ganges River, in the Indian state of West Bengal. Arrive in Delhi and spend a day exploring India’s old and new capital. Then fly to Bhutan, the smallest of the Himalayan Kingdoms. Visit the valley town of Paro and the capital city of Thimphu; hike to the sacred Taktsang Monastery, perched high above the Paro Valley; visit dzongs, chortens, and stupas, which embody the heart of Bhutanese Buddhism; and enjoy Bhutanese arts, crafts, and folk dancing. Return to India and board the Ganges Voyager for a round-trip cruise between Kolkata and Chandannagar. From its source high in the mighty Himalayas, the Ganges River, “Mother Ganga” to Indians, flows 1,500 miles south and east through areas Western visitors have rarely seen. A tapestry of varied religious beliefs, awe-inspiring history, rich architecture, and cultural traditions spreads along its banks. Lectures and discussions throughout the program will explore the cultural history, diverse religious traditions, artistic expressions, and architectural achievements of Bhutan and India. An optional pre-trip extension to Agra, home of the incomparable Taj Mahal, is available as a memorable way to begin this Bhutan and India adventure. MIT travelers will be sharing this program with travelers from the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Smithsonian. The Ganges Voyager can accommodate only 44 guests, so I encourage you to reserve your cabin now by calling the MIT Alumni Travel Program at 800-992-6749, or email us at [email protected]. You may also contact the tour operator, Criterion Travel, at 888-328-2089. Sincerely, Melissa Chapman Gresh Director, MIT Alumni Travel Program P.S. Visit our website at alum.mit.edu/travel for details and updates on all of our programs. Find us on Facebook at MIT Alumni Travel Program. TraDiTioNal BHuTaNese Dress HuMayuN’s ToMB, DelHi ITINERARY 1955. Visit the 169-foot-tall, massive golden which houses some of the finest specimens Buddha Dordenma statue, which sits atop of Bhutanese art, including bronze statues Tuesday–Wednesday, March 5–6 Home / Delhi, India a gilded meditation hall and contains more and paintings covering more than 1,500 than 100,000 miniature bronze and gilded years of Bhutan’s cultural history. In the Depart home on an overnight flight to Buddhas. The statue commemorates the afternoon, visit the 17th-century Paro Delhi. Arrive on March 6 and transfer to centennial of the Bhutanese monarchy and Dzong, the center of civil and religious the hotel. Enjoy a welcome reception and fulfills two ancient prophecies. Then explore authority in the Paro Valley, and popularized orientation this evening. Radisson Blu Plaza (R) Motithang Takin Preserve, a wildlife reserve by the film The Little Buddha. Back at the area for takin, a goat-antelope that is the hotel, enjoy a performance of folk dancing. Thursday, March 7 national animal of Bhutan. Le Meridien (B,L,D) Hotel Zhiwaling (B,L,D) Delhi Old Delhi, the capital of Muslim India for Saturday, March 9 Monday, March 11 seven centuries, consists of eight different Thimphu Paro cities built by a succession of empires. New Begin the day with a visit to the Memorial By special arrangement, visit the iconic Delhi was created as the capital of India by Stupa, or Thimphu Chorten, a prominent Taktsang (“Tiger’s Nest”) Monastery, whose the British in 1911, and is the epicenter of landmark embellished with golden spires white temples cling to a soaring cliff 10,000 contemporary Indian political activity. In and bells, built in 1974 to honor the third feet above the valley. The monastery is a Old Delhi, visit Jama Masjid, the largest king of Bhutan. Continue to the Royal pilgrimage destination that all Bhutanese mosque in India, with its tapering minarets Textile Academy, dedicated to preserving people aspire to visit at least once in their and marble domes. In New Delhi, visit two and promoting the art of weaving, a lives. Hotel Zhiwaling (B,L,D) World Heritage sites: the red sandstone significant part of the cultural traditions and marble Qutab Minar, the tallest of Bhutan; and Simtokha Dzong, an Tuesday, March 12 minaret in India, and Humayun’s Tomb, the important historical monastery/fortress Kolkata, India / Hooghly architectural forerunner of the Taj Mahal. that also houses one of Bhutan’s premier After a morning flight to Kolkata, embark Also see the India Gate, a memorial to learning institutes. Le Meridien (B,L,D) the Ganges Voyager, your home for the Indian soldiers killed during World War I. remainder of this program. This afternoon Radisson Blu Plaza (B,L,D) Sunday, March 10 cruise to Hooghly for a visit to the Hooghly Paro Imambara, a mosque/congregation hall for Friday, March 8 Paro, Bhutan / Thimphu Drive through the picturesque countryside Shia Muslim commemoration ceremonies to Paro, observing local village life along the in West Bengal. Hooghly Imambara is This morning fly to Paro, site of the only way. Visit Dungtse Lakhang, a Buddhist famous for its clock, located between twin airport in the tiny country of Bhutan, and temple in the form of a chorten, rare in towers constructed over the doorway of the drive to Thimphu, Bhutan’s capital since Bhutan. Explore the National Museum, main entrance. The clock has two dials with Tibet DEHLI H I NEW DEHLI Nepal M A L A Y A S Mt. Everest AIR PARO THIMPHU CRUISE Bhutan LAND FLIGHT FROM DELHI India MAYAPUR KALNA GUPTIPARA CHANDANNAGAR KOLKATA KrisHNa TeMPle, MayaPur different sizes of bells that ring to signify the its beautiful frescoes; the Chaitanya temple, hours and quarter hours, and requires two the oldest and smallest; and the Ram people to wind it for half an hour each week Chandra temple, the richest in terra cotta with a key that weighs 44 pounds. Cruise to work. Ganges Voyager (B,L,D) Kalna this evening. Ganges Voyager (B,L,D) Friday, March 15 Wednesday, March 13 Chandannagar Kalna Cruise to Chandannagar, a former French Ride in rickshaws to the enchanting Rajbari colony established in 1673. Explore the complex, whose impressive concentration of many historic buildings along the tree- OPTIONAL PRE-TOUR temples includes the Pratapeshwas Temple, shaded Strand, and the nearby Sacred Heart EXTENSION richly ornamented with terracotta, and the Church, a prime example of French colonial Nabakailas Temples, 108 slope-roofed Shiva architecture. This evening celebrate your Agra & Fatehpur Sikri temples arranged in two concentric circles. Bhutan and Ganges River adventure at a March 2–6, 2019 Relax aboard Ganges Voyager this afternoon farewell dinner. Ganges Voyager (B,L,D) Visit Agra and the incomparable Taj en route to Mayapur. Ganges Voyager (B,L,D) Mahal, completed in 1654 in memory Saturday–Sunday, March 16–17 of Emperor Shah Jahan’s wife, Mumtaz, Thursday, March 14 Kolkata / Home and often described as the most beautiful Mayapur / Guptipara Explore colonial Kolkata, the capital of British monument to love ever built. Also explore Experience the fascinating culture India until 1912, including Dalhousie Square; the UNESCO World Heritage site of of Krishna followers with a visit to the Writers’ Building, once the administrative Fatehpur Sikri, the deserted imperial capital the International Society of Krishna offices of the British East India Company; and built by Emperor Akbar in the late 16th Consciousness (ISKCON) temple, Raj Bhavan (the Governor’s House), seat of century and abandoned after only 14 years comparable in size to the Vatican. Also imperial British power. Also visit the Mother due to the lack of an adequate water supply. walk through the Pilgrim’s Bazaar and Teresa of Calcutta Center. Later this evening, A perfectly preserved example of a Mughal visit a goshala (cow shelter), where cows transfer to the airport for flights home, arriving city, Fatehpur Sikri, with its audience halls, are protected because of their religious on March 17. (B,L,D) palaces, courtyards, pools, and enormous significance.