By Kwaku Arthur Dear Agora, I say namaste To your irreplaceable scenery To the welcoming taste of tea To chacha-ji and Pana-ji And terraces as far as my eyes can see To the ever-so majestic mountains Scraping the sky An extension from where I currently lie To the power which links your people to the … Continue reading A Letter to Agora
Today we spent the day with PhD candidates who have dedicated their lives to flora and fauna both invasive and endemic to the Andaman Islands. We traversed the jungle, climbing up and down impossibly thick-rooted trees and ledges; we learned the sleeping patterns of lizards; we spotted geckos as vibrant green as the tops of … Continue reading This Place
I'll keep this brief because we are about to feast on chicken tikka and fish: The Andaman Islands are beautiful—well, that's an understatement. To be honest, you should probably feel a twinge of jealousy right now. Or, maybe you should choose to take the higher road and feel happy for your intrepid travelers. They're certainly … Continue reading Wow
Good morning from the domestic terminal! We are all checked in and ready to fly to Port Blair to continue our massive Ganges watershed investigation. Despite our early morning, we are happy. Last night we had a lively discussion about Delhi—a complicated place, for sure. Framing the day amidst the remnants of the Moguls in … Continue reading On the Road (again)
By Evan Pausic speak the language of flowers remember when your mother's hand touched your sickly forehead the world watches and is blind I can see the top a snow capped mountain we only know the outlines of what we see I see the flower in fire on the terrace I see the flower shining … Continue reading A Poem
By Erik DeMario India inspires births in people. We were told about the experience; we were taught the experience, but only through the experience itself can we truly grasp a broadened perspective on life. It feels distant to be in a place where there is no such thing as a bad view. The tall, snow … Continue reading Births
After an overnight bus trip through the circuitous streets of the Himalayas, we have returned to the nation's capital. The plains are warm, bustling, and cacophonous. In Agora we'd forgotten the myriad of horn sounds that underscore urban India; we've certainly been reacquainted. We are leaving in a few short minutes to make the most … Continue reading Back in Delhi
This morning we've dispersed along this mountainside in order to say goodbye for now to our home away from home. There is always a certain heaviness that characterizes this final day in Agora. We started our morning with a few sun salutations that faced the snow caps. As we stretched, women walked by with baskets … Continue reading Last Day
By Eliza Carr Schmidt People at school always said this trip was a once in a lifetime opportunity or that it changed their lives. For me, I didn't really get that feeling until the long bus ride from the tent camp on the Ganges to Uttarkashi. That bus ride, though long and for some an … Continue reading Once in a Lifetime
By Zoe Harding We currently reside in a place that has existed for five hundred years. The people have sculpted the steep mountainside into a small village and hundreds of terraces of farmland. They have taken the wildness of the young Himalayas and made it their own. Agora is just one of the many villages … Continue reading Never Stop
CCS GLOBAL EDUCATION 