The School Trips

School trips are part and parcel of the school curriculum. Every year schools plan tours for every class which are both educational and entertaining tours. In some schools, it is compulsory whereas in some it is optional. Our school also plans tours every year and it is compulsory for every student to participate. This year we went to Jaipur for two nights and three days.

We were very excited, for a trip with friends, that a two-night stay is a dream come true. We were given an Itinerary in which all the details of our visits and stay were mentioned. We were to stay at Rajasthan Tourist Complex for 2 nights and the rooms provided were excellent. On reaching Jaipur, we saw our rooms which were good, we had to share a room with 4 boys, we were told to get ready within half an hour, for after lunch we would start with our monument visits. That day after visiting Jantar Mantar, Hava Mahal, Amer Fort, and City Palace, we were tired. And we come back and had a nice sleep.

The next day we went to Bikaner, which is a beautiful city, we also visited Jodhpur and come back to our buses after the tea break. We had to come back to Jaipur by 1010 clock. Singing songs, we had hardly traveled for an hour or so when the bus broke down at around 8'o clock, we were in a deserted place, and there was sand outstretched on both sides. It was an eerie feeling.

The driver along with the conductor came down to examine the engine but to no avail.

Since, it was totally dark and cold too, since in deserts, nights are cold and days are warmer. They both tried hard, but in sheer darkness, no solution could be reached. Our sirs and mams were also worried, but they kept their cool and asked us to remain quiet and not to make any noise, at least we drew the attention to anti-social elements. At a distance of 200 meters or so, there were some tents that used to be seen, for there were lamps burning and camels tied outside the tents.

Our sir suggested to the driver that they should go and ask for help otherwise the darker it got, the riskier it would be. Some of the students had started crying. They were uncomfortable, but the elder boys tried to cool them down.

Some boys with teachers, went towards the tents, for some aid. I too was among them, on reaching there, we saw that they were all Rajasthanis. Their dress was their hallmark and they were sturdy. They were singing and dancing and enjoying themselves when we approached them, they were shocked and asked the reason for our approach. We told them about our predicament. The way they looked at each other, indicated that they were suspicious, but when we showed them our bus and the school students in it, they readily agreed to help us.

They asked all the students to come into the tents, we had such a nice time dancing, singing around the bonfire, that it became the most memorable trip. Then they gave us food to eat and at around 12'o clock we went to sleep in their tents for the bus could not be redeemed before morning, we did not mind it, for this was an exciting adventure and would be cherished life-long.

The next morning we all came back to the hotel, had some more sightseeing that day and in the afternoon, started early to prevent any more eventuality. We came back at To clock in the evening and shared the experience with our parents, who first appeared worried, but later they too felt that it was a part and parcel of the school trip, and such challenges teach you to become stronger and brave in life.