Footprints5

Footprints 28
Glimpses
of Goa
Trip
2018….
Our Adventurous Trek
I had never ever expected that the
trek was going to be so hard
though I knew we were climbing
Goa's third highest peak. With us
several villagers, kids and adults,
Shraddha aunty and Parag uncle
came. The trek was steep and
therefore very tiring. The more I
walked the more drenched in sweat
I became. At the bottom it was
shady but humid. On top the air
became more dry and so it was
much more hot.We saw many
different kinds of plants, we also
saw a Green Vine snake. It was
thin and humble but as it noticed
the loud and noisy children
standing around it became proud
and arrogant. This caused it to puff
up and get spots all over itself.
When we reached on top I
felt exhilarated and energetic which
made me feel I could do anything.
It was a nice feeling but I would
have preferred to feel it while
climbing up. The wind blew
strongly, cooling our sweat
drenched bodies. The view was
breathtaking. Everyone's spirits
soared high with the wind. None of
us felt like going down to the
commonplace world. It was a nice
experience...... The wind
mischievously blowing our hair
about our faces, the sky stooping
low to embrace us with its blue
arms, the Sun's golden rays
dancing about, the clouds putting
on a show by displaying various -
rather vague - figures and the
mountain holding not only our
heads but our whole body on cloud
nine.
Going down was much
harder than I thought. It was really
slippery as the path held loose soil.
Everyone kept falling down. The
villagers climbed up and down
blithely. While we took about one
and a half hour, the villagers
usually only took half an hour. We
all got down dead tired. But
everyone had enjoyed and this was
an experience I don't think anyone
would want to forget. I shall never
ever forget this memory.
Niveda, 12 years
Plouging:
When we journeyed to goa, there
were many activities that we did;
ploughing the fields was one of
them. Although I wouldn’t consider
it fun, it was a very memorable
experience.
We walked through the wet, slushy
mud with utmost disgust. Our legs
were coated with a thick layer of
the mud and we stood there
carefully listening to the man who
owned the farm. He explained what
our task was and why we were
doing it.
“This soil has cow dung and other
substances to make it fertile so
that plants can grow quite easily,”
he explained. We erupted into
“Eww!” and “yuck!” and other
expressions of disgust. Eventually,
we got used to the soil..
We were to mix up the soil in the
nursery, where the initial growth of
plants would happen. Later, when
they mature enough, they would
be placed elsewhere. So we held
ploughs and dug deep. Then we
brought the soil from underneath
to the top and mixed it all up. I
have to agree, the work of a
farmer is hard and tiring.
Then we had some water to wash
up. Some of us kept falling and
falling, it took a while for them to
clean up. The rest of us had a quick
wash and then we headed back to
our stay where we were served a
traditional farmer’s snack.
-Neethi Holla, 11 Years
Education can not be effective unless it helps a child open up himself to life - Dr Maria Montessori