Next day, they visited the Akshaya Patra kitchen managed by the International Society for Krishna
Consciousness (ISKCON). The delegation saw the process of cooking mid-day meals for thousands
of socio-economically backward children studying in different schools of Ahmedabad, which is carried
out on a daily basis. After this, they also visited the Hare Krishna Mandir and learnt briefly about the
organization and Krishna consciousness. They also visited some of the school in which the mid-day
meals are served and helped the volunteers of the organization in serving the food. This was followed
by a guest lecture by a saint from Hare Krishna Movement on Positive Organisation Behaviour-
Perspectives from Bhagwad Gita. He talked about the various teaching from Bhagwad Gita that can
be adapted to today’s life by people of all cultures.
After this, the delegation visited the Sabarmati Ashram built on the banks of the river Sabarmati and
was one of the residences of Mahatma Gandhi. They visited the Hriday Kunj, the cottage in which
Mahatma Gandhi lived. They also saw the museum which carries various quotes, messages,
pictures, etc. of Mahatma sGandhi. They also saw the process of weaving yarns on a charkha, as
done and promoted by Gandhi.
In the evening they visited the Ahmedabad One Mall for shopping along-with the student volunteers
of PDPU after which they departed for their hotel.
On their 12th day, they visited Delhi Public School, Bopal, Ahmedabad as a part of their Academic
Visit. The visit focused on mainstream Schooling in India and Special Education. The delegation then
came to PDPU and attended the Indian Food Festival which was arranged by the PDPU Students.
Arjun Hurra, an alumnus of School of Liberal Studies, PDPU, cooked some paranthas, paneer tikka
and chicken tikka for the delegation while also teaching them the process of cooking. The delegation
also interacted with the other international students studying in PDPU during the food fest.
Thereafter, they attended a guest lecture by Dr. S.L. Vaya, Director, R & D, Raksha Shakti University
on ‘Journey Back to the Roots: Psychology in India.’ During the lecture, Dr. Vaya talked about the
internalising approach, emphasized upon in Indian Psychology. She also discussed about Vipassana,
an ancient Indian meditation technique that was rediscovered by Gautam Buddha.
After the lecture, there was a panel discussion on ‘Mental Health and Youth’ by Dr. Madhu Singh,
Director of B. M. Institute of Mental Health; Dr. Rajendra Anand, CEO, Medical Superintendent at
Kanoria Hospital and Research Centre, Ms. Sangeeta Hinduja, Principal, PRERNA, Delhi Public
School and Dr. Ritu Sharma, Associate Professor, Psychology, Pandit Deendayal Petroleum
University. During the panel discussion, various aspects of mental health and youth including
substance addiction, career expectations and parent-child relationship amongst others were
discussed by the panelists.
On 13th February, the students attended a Yoga Session with the instructor Ms. Riri Trivedi,
cofounder of Wellness Space in Ahmedabad. Ms. Trivedi taught the students the basic principles of
Yoga in India and some of the basic postures followed during the practice of Yoga along-with their
significance and impact on the body. This was followed by her lecture on Positive Psychology in
Indian Context. She explained the system of Pancha Kosha and how various meditative and
mindfulness practices can help balance this system.
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