Sep 12 - Oct 2, 2024
Starting at
4,499
India
The Best of India: Treasures of the North and South
Program No. 18716RJ
Dive into the vibrant culture of India, discovering its grand cities, sacred monuments and exquisite gardens on this unique academic adventure.
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DATES
& starting prices
PRICES
Oct 10 - Oct 30, 2024
Starting at
4,749Jan 9 - Jan 29, 2025
Starting at
4,999Jan 23 - Feb 12, 2025
Starting at
4,999Feb 6 - Feb 26, 2025
Starting at
4,999DATES
& starting prices
PRICES
Sep 12 - Oct 2, 2024
Starting at
5,499Oct 10 - Oct 30, 2024
Starting at
5,899Jan 9 - Jan 29, 2025
Starting at
6,209Jan 23 - Feb 12, 2025
Starting at
6,209Feb 6 - Feb 26, 2025
Starting at
6,209Feb 20 - Mar 12, 2025
Starting at
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21 days
20 nights
48 meals
17B 17L 14D
1
In Transit to Program
In Flight
2
En route to program.
In Flight
17
Train to Alleppey, Drive to Kerala Backwaters Region
Kerala Backwaters
18
Kerala Backwaters Exploration
Kerala Backwaters
21
Departures, Program Concludes
In Flight
At a Glance
Traverse India on a comprehensive journey that takes you from the Golden Triangle capitals of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur in the north to the frescoed fortress of the “Tiger of Mysore” and the bayou-like Kerala backwaters in the south, learning customs and traditions from locals and absorbing India’s history from experts who know it best.
Activity Level
Let's Go!
This is an active “Keep the Pace” program. Walking up to three miles at a time at a normal public walking pace over varied terrain. Standing at least three hours daily; climbing stairs (at times without handrails), getting on/off buses and boats, carrying own luggage. If you believe you require wheelchair assistance to get through an airport you are not fit enough to participate in this program. A few bus rides up to 5 hours long with stops along the way.
Small Group
Love to learn and explore in a small-group setting? These adventures offer small, personal experiences with groups of 13 to 24 participants.
What You'll Learn
- Enjoy home-hosted dinners with local Indian families.
- Watch as the sun rises and sets over the marble domes of the Taj Mahal.
- Explore and enjoy the tranquility of the Kerala backwaters on a houseboat.
Suggested Reading List
(30 books)
Visit the Road Scholar Bookshop
You can find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on bookshop.org, a website that supports local bookstores.
The Best of India: Treasures of the North and South
Program Number: 18716
The Lunchbox
FILM
A young housewife and a lonely widower begin an unlikely correspondence when Mumbai's eerily reliable lunchbox delivery service makes a mistake.
India Adventure Map
The most detailed shaded relief map (at a scale of 1:2,100,000) of India available.
An Autobiography, Or the Story of My Experiments with Truth
There is no substitute for reading Gandhi in his own simple, direct prose. A highly recommended glimpse into the personality and life of this remarkable figure.
Birds of India
Thoroughly revised, with 73 new plates and many others updated or repainted, the second edition of the masterful Birds of India now features all maps and text opposite the plates for quicker and easier reference.
The White Tiger, A Novel
Mordant, funny, angry, horrifying, this Booker Prize-winning tale of a village pauper turned success (and murderer) skewers the ambition, inequity and corruption of 21st-century India.
Nine Lives, In Search of the Sacred in Modern India
From Sufi dervish and Buddhist monk to outcast and temple worshiper: nine people, nine lives, all captured by Dalrymple as he journeys throughout India in search of remarkable individuals transformed by religion. At turns bemusing, dazzling and heart-wrenching, this is his first travel book in 15 years.
A Fine Balance
Set in 1975 in an unnamed Indian "city by the sea," this tender novel follows the intermingled fortunes of a Parsi widow, her boarder and two tailors. A Booker Prize finalist.
Handmade in India
Featuring 3500 color photos and organized by region, this sumptuous album covers the diverse crafts of India with style and authority.
May You Be the Mother of a Hundred Sons, A Journey Among the Women of India
A wonderfully written and fascinating portrayal of Indian women from Bollywood stars to Indira Gandhi to prostitutes. It's an insightful portrait of the country as seen through the eyes of its women.
Taj Mahal
An enlightening pocket guide to the myth, meaning and legends of the celebrated tomb, "the queen of architecture."
Gandhi
FILM
This film is based on the life and trials of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, an Indian activist who was the leader of the Indian independence movement against British colonial rule. Employing nonviolent civil disobedience, Gandhi led India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world.
Arrow of the Blue-Skinned God
Blank's entertaining portrait of contemporary India and Sri Lanka mixes reporting, anecdote and myth as he travels, sometimes in the footsteps of India's great hero Rama.
Midnight's Children
Crowned Best of the Booker in 2008, Rushdie's greatest novel is a madcap, comic take on the birth of modern India in all its splendid and unexpected manifestations.
India Becoming
Kapur returns to the country of his birth for this reveals the rich tapestry of contemporary India as told through the lives of ordinary people.
Hindu Art and Architecture
An excellent survey of Hindu art and architecture, explaining the meaning and construction of principal images and buildings, as well as the development of Hinduism and the corpus of myths that have influenced its artistic tradition.
Slumdog Millionare
FILM
Slumdog millionaire is the story of an 18 year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai who, with the whole nation watching, is just one question away from winning a staggering 20 million rupees on India's "Who wants to be a Millionaire?"
Malgudi Days
Wonderful tales from one of India's foremost writers about a fictional South Indian town, populated by quirky characters whose unique approaches to tradition and modernity are the stuff of great short stories.
The God of Small Things
This luminous, Booker-prize winning novel is part mystery, part family saga -- a tale of lost innocence set in Kerala during the tumult of the 1960s.
Ladies First
FILM
Ladies First tells the story of Deepika Kumari who, born on the roadside to abject poverty in rural India, went in search of food, stumbled upon archery, and within 4 years became the number one archer in the world. Deepika's tumultuous path is documented to the Rio 2016 Olympics. This short documentary is a available on-line.
Monsoon
Monsoon is more than a weather system in India, it is a way of life — “the soul of India.” This visual masterpiece takes you beyond the rains, into the stories of local people whose lives are deeply affected by the annual onslaught. From meteorologists to fisherman, gamblers to Bollywood film stars, their stories provide a poignant reflection on the economic, cultural, and spiritual power of monsoon.
Travelers' Tales India
A collection of 45 descriptive and thought-provoking short excerpts on Indian life and culture, including contributions from Rushdie, Naipaul and Dalrymple, plus some valuable excerpts from books long out of print.
Eyewitness Guide Delhi, Agra and Jaipur
With chapters on Taj Mahal, Amber Fort Palace, Keoladeo Ghana National Park, Red Fort and dozens of other highlights for the traveler, this compact, gorgeously illustrated guide to Delhi and its environs features 900 color photographs, maps and site plans.
India, A Traveler's Literary Companion
Each of these 14 stories evokes place and landscape, providing an excellent introduction both to contemporary writers and to India's diverse cultures and history.
India, A Sacred Geography
Professor of comparative religion and Indian studies at Harvard, Diana Eck turns her interest in temples and places of pilgrimage into a celebration of the diversity of popular religious traditions in India in this richly rewarding travelogue.
India
Reflections on India - its religion and philosophy, its art, culture and politics - by the dean of the country’s American historians: beautifully written and provocative as well as evocative.
Curry, A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors
This cultural history with recipes is appetizingly organized as a menu (biryani, vindaloo, chai, etc.). Curry explores the origins and spread of Indian food and the interplay between Muslim, Hindu, Portuguese and British traditions on the Subcontinent.
In Spite of the Gods, The Strange Rise of Modern India
Luce tackles the challenges and reality of the world's largest democracy with insight and balance in this portrait of a nation in transition.
City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi
Dalrymple infectiously interweaves his own experiences over a year in Delhi with the art, architecture, history and literature of the city.
Eyewitness Guide India
A handsome, beautifully illustrated guide to India. It features color photographs, history and plenty of background information.
Lion
FILM
An Indian man who was separated from his mother at age 5 and adopted by an Australian couple returns home, determined to find his birth family
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