By Jonny Klynkramer (ArtSci ’14)
Contributor

Last week I wrote about some of the most aggravating aspects of studying in India. It was written the day I finished exams; burnt out after a semester of trying to adjust to the chaos of my new life while dealing with the rigours of schoolwork. At that time I was far too cynical, but now that I’ve had time to cool down I want to re-address the issue.


A conversation with a classmate really opened my eyes to the crushing effect that underfunding and overpopulation has had on the post-secondary classrooms of India. Our Mass Media program has only two coordinators who work to organize the entire program, manage all 200-or-so students and teach a number of classes on top of that. Combine this with the fact that there’s only one room available that holds 24 weekly classes, the situation becomes even more desperate.

Our other professors are guest lecturers who maintain positions in alternate fields while managing to teach and mark papers without the help of a TA. When there are on average 60 students per class I imagine this becomes a extraordinary task.
With this in mind, it’s amazing that these people are able to maintain such a solid program despite the lack of resources. It also makes me even more grateful for the amount of personal attention they’ve given me since my arrival.



With the term commenced-IT’S TIME TO TRAVEL! The mid-semester break and the Diwali vacation overlap, has given me around a month before I have to be back in school. This gives me a fair bit of time to explore something other than the city of Mumbai. The problem is, where to go? What to see? India is such a vast country with so many varying regions and cultures. I plan on going to a music festival happening in the desert of Jaisalmer in the far west of India the weekend before school resumes, but between now and the middle of November, the world is my oyster.

I became frustrated with Lonely Planet suggestions for popular destinations in India. The more I read about things and tried to come up with a solid plan, the less exciting the prospect of traveling to these places became. I really wanted to go up north (I’m missing the cold and dry air.) The list of possibilities was virtually endless. Eventually I resorted to pulling up a map of India and looked at the bigger picture. My eyes started on Jaisalmer at the western edge of India. My gaze began to drift to the right, until I found myself staring at the oft-forgotten arm of land that’s India’s northeast. The area between the two happened to cover all the northern locations I wanted to visit.
That’s when I knew what I had to do. I bought myself a trekking bag and booked a flight to the northeast. So, from Oct. 23 on, that’s where I’ll be; making my way across northern India, without a definite plan, and by any means necessary (bus, train, bike or foot). I only hope that I make it back with some interesting stories.