When I first heard the idea that we would be heading down to Arsha Vidya Gurukulam to work on Swach Ganga and other activities, I initially thought “Why go there when we could simply work on it here?” Eventually, I was persuaded of its importance and we packed our bags and decided to head down to AVG. On the way down we were blasting Queen and other music at full blast. However, once we got into Pampa on the first day we were working so hard and enthusiastically that the building could be on fire and we wouldn’t have noticed. After finishing my goals within the first few days, I was bounced around to different projects – essentially being a freelancer. This camp is one of the few times I enjoyed working nonstop.
I was glad that we made the trip. I learnt more about myself and the others around me than anyone would have initially predict. In addition, the resources and support AVG provided was awe-inspiring. Both Swamiji and Suddhatmaji were willing to help our cause by answering our game-specific questions and allowed us to interview them. Their testimony about the importance of Ganga and rivers in life was eye-opening. My favorite video Rathi Auntie had us watch was about Chasing Rivers, Part 2: The Ganges. The way he describes the attitude and rituals around the river. I finally understand the attitude for pollution the river: if the river is god, then you can’t harm god. Towards the end of the camp things got out of control with multiple prank wars – simply nobody was safe. Plenty of jokes were cracked. One of which cause me to laugh for 7 nonstop minutes. New bonds were formed. Old ones were strengthened.