We offer our students the opportunity to take a tailor-made study tour of North or South India, which will support and enhance your studies on the Religious Studies degree. The trips, during which you will travel by sleeper train and coach last about 10 days, take in some of the most important religious and historic sites that North or South India has to offer.
South India is quite different from the North in that the pace of life is slower; the divide between rich and poor is less obvious and religious traditions are more obviously upheld. Since South India was influenced much less by the invasions that have left their mark on the North, religious buildings and practice have remained relatively unchanged.
The first stop is the small town of Shravanabelagola, which is at the heart of Jainism in Karnataka. This small town is dominated by the 57’ monolith of Bahabali who stands on top of Indragiri hill. The 600+ steps that lead steeply to the top are well worth the climb as he is truly a work of art. From here it is an overnight sleeper train journey to Madurai. This important city stands on the banks of the Vaigai River in Tamilnadu, but is dominated by the huge and spectacular Minakshi temple that is at its sacred heart.
In Madurai you will meet many wonderful people including the slum dwellers of Madurai whilst visiting an organisation called the MNEC. Here you will talk to people working to support the most vulnerable people in India, including women with AIDS or widows and their children, many of these being Dalits (previously known as untouchables). You will then make stops in Thanjavur, Chidambaram, Pondicherry, the World Heritage site at Mammalapuram and then to Chennai (Madras) before a flight to Mumbai (Bombay) for the final few days. Here you visit some soap opera scene shoots and discussed the importance of film in Indian society with actors and directors.
Both the South and North India itineraries have been designed to correspond directly with elements of all three years of teaching. You will be taken to places that they have read about; Eastern religions, particularly as practiced in India, are a riot of sounds, smells and sights that just cannot be communicated through formal lecturing. The specific itinerary of each trip will be considered each year and some aspects may change. Take a look at some of our favourite photos from our past trips, taken by our students and tutors, by clicking on the images below.