Happy holiday: Giving aid as they travel MEENAKSHI KUMAR
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2005 01:27:28 AM ]
NEW DELHI: Imagine a group of Americans on horseback riding through remote villages in Rajasthan, braving the scorching desert heat. Now imagine them stopping at villages, distributing livestock, educating the villagers about AIDS and participating in medical camps.
This motley group, mainly from New York is, by the way, on a holiday. Except that it combines exotic travel with a liberal dose of philanthropy.
Welcome to a new concept of travel that's firing the imagination of Americans who are now coming to India to get the experience of a lifetime. And the man behind this concept is 35-year-old New Yorker, half-Indian, half-French Alexander Souri and it's his organisation, Relief Riders International (RRI), that's making this possible.
But last October when he gathered a group of Americans for their first relief ride through remote villages of Rajasthan, he was not sure how it would turn out. He needn't have worried.
By the end of the trip, the travellers had had their taste of 'real' India.Souri returns in October this year with another group of 15 Americans.
"We have tried to create a unique travel experience — where individuals give to themselves by giving to others, says Souri.
The relief ride is an archetypal experience steeped in mythology: given its mission, its use of horses and the use of beautiful desert landscape," says Souri, who was a producer of special effects in films such as The Matrix, X-Men and End of Days.
The ride begins with the group arriving in Delhi, moving to Dundlod in Rajasthan from where horses are picked up and then travelling to remote villages. It entails staying in tents and heritage hotels, riding through dusty villages to bringing relief material — livestock and medicines — to the villagers.
Caroline Duncan, who came on the last tour in March says, "To hold a baby goat in my arms and personally give it to a needy family, give medicine to a sick child and then ride out on my beautiful horse to be followed by a hot shower and fabulous dinner — this trip combines exoticism and philanthropy in a unique way."
The nearly two-week-long ride, costing $5,400 each, is organised along with the Indian Red Cross and has been co-created by Mahesh Arora, director, National Disaster Management, Indian Red Cross.
Relief is provided in the form of livestock (goats) and by setting up medical camps. "We cure simple infections which if left untreated become fatal. On our last trip, a woman came with a five-month-old baby who had severe skin ulceration. Had we not treated, the baby would not have survived," says Souri.
For Edward Colberg, it was an opportunity to "step outside our daily lives" while for 69-year-old Shirley Campbell it provided her an experience she would not have had as an ordinary tourist.
So, the next time you spot a group of Americans on horseback traversing the dusty Rajasthan terrain, don't be surprised. Remember, they are on a holiday.