My Travel Adventures

On my penultimate day in Northern India, I went on another guided tour. My cab picked me up at six o’clock in the morning, and we met the guide in Agra after nine. Our first stop was Taj Mahal. While it may seem counterintuitive to begin an excursion with the most spectacular sight, it makes sense when one considers the sheer number of tourists who start pouring in throughout the day. Even at this hour, the place was bustling, and my guide hurried forward at breakneck speed in a futile attempt to beat the crowds.

On Tuesday, I had an appointment at Ashoka University, a relatively new institution whose vision has attracted major investors and academic heavyweights. Modelled along the lines of American liberal arts colleges, it dubs itself the Harvard of Haryana, the Yale on the Yamuna, and several other slogans I cannot remember. I was surprised to find the campus quite small and cozy, housing only around 3,000 students. Nevertheless, it has already grown significantly since the time my friend Sparsh studied there, and is now expanding by another whole campus.