Your project will fill your weekdays, and it will probably be the part of your trip you remember most. But India rewards the time around it too, if you’re ready for early starts, long train rides, a few words of Hindi and a healthy appetite. Here are nine experiences worth fitting in while you volunteer.
1. See the Taj Mahal in the early light
Yes, it’s famous, and yes, it lives up to it. The marble shifts color through the day, from soft pink at dawn to dazzling white at noon, and the gardens are calmest first thing, before the crowds arrive. Our Golden Triangle tour takes you there early in the morning with a guide, and the Taj Mahal day trip makes an easy Saturday or Sunday out of Delhi. Remember that the Taj is closed on Fridays.
2. Share a meal at the Golden Temple
The community kitchen at the Golden Temple in Amritsar serves free vegetarian meals to anyone who walks in, of any faith or none, every day of the year. You sit on the floor in long rows while volunteers serve dal, roti and rice, and afterwards you can join them for a while, peeling vegetables or washing up. Stay until dark, when the temple glows gold above its pool. Our Amritsar trip takes you there by train from Delhi.
3. Watch the Ganga Aarti in Varanasi
Every evening on the ghats of Varanasi, priests perform the Ganga Aarti, a ceremony of fire, bells, chanting and incense offered to the river. Watch from the steps or from a boat on the water, then come back at dawn, when pilgrims bathe and the old city wakes up along the riverbank. Our Varanasi weekend includes the aarti, a boat ride and Sarnath, where the Buddha first taught. Closer to Delhi, Haridwar and Rishikesh hold their own evening aarti on the Ganges.
4. Celebrate a festival
Indian festivals are loud, joyful and open to everyone. At Holi, usually in March, the streets fill with colored powder and water; at Diwali, in October or November, homes and streets glow with oil lamps and strings of lights. There are many more through the year, from Dussehra and Eid to Guru Nanak’s birthday and Christmas. Festivals are often marked at the projects too, and celebrating with the children is something volunteers talk about long afterwards. Wear old clothes for Holi.
5. Eat your way through Old Delhi
The lanes around Chandni Chowk and the Jama Masjid are a crash course in North Indian food: stuffed parathas fried to order, tangy chaat, kebabs grilled over charcoal, syrupy jalebis and thick, sweet lassi. Go with a group, eat where local people line up and the food is cooked in front of you, and stick to bottled or filtered water. Then walk it off in the spice market at Khari Baoli, or bargain for souvenirs in the bazaars. Our list of things to do in Delhi has plenty more.
6. Take a long train journey
Indian Railways carries millions of passengers a day, and an overnight journey is one of the best ways to see everyday life up close. In a sleeper carriage, families share their food, chai sellers walk the aisles calling “chai, chai,” and you wake to fields and villages sliding past the window. Book ahead, bring a padlock and chain for your bag, and pack a layer for the air-conditioning. Shorter rides count too: the Delhi Metro, a shared auto-rickshaw and a cycle-rickshaw through Old Delhi are all part of the experience.
7. Learn some Hindi
Plenty of people in Delhi and Jaipur speak some English, but a few words of Hindi change how people respond to you. Start with namaste (hello), dhanyavaad (thank you), kitne ka hai? (how much is it?) and bas (enough), and the children at your project will happily teach you the rest. To go further, our Hindi and culture week in Delhi teaches the phrases you’ll actually use, with a Bollywood film along the way to put them to the test.
8. Take a cooking class
Indian home cooking is very different from most Indian restaurant menus abroad, and a few dishes you can make yourself are a souvenir that lasts. Cooking classes in Delhi and Jaipur, often in a family’s own kitchen, teach staples such as dal, a vegetable curry, chapatis and masala chai, and usually end with you eating what you made. If you stay with a host family in Jaipur, ask if you can watch how they make their rotis.
9. Try yoga in Rishikesh
Yoga began in India, and Rishikesh, on the Ganges in the Himalayan foothills, is where many travelers go to try it. Ashrams and studios run drop-in classes for beginners, there are meditation sessions and talks, and the evening aarti by the river is a peaceful way to end the day. Rishikesh is an easy long weekend from Delhi by train or bus; it’s an independent trip, and your coordinator can help you plan the journey.
Whatever you choose, leave room for the unplanned: the invitation to chai, the wedding procession that blocks the street, the conversation with a stranger on the train. For more ideas, read about traveling and volunteering in India, or email info@volunteeringindia.com to start planning your trip.