The tour was planned, the preparations were done, the bags were packed, everyone was filled with enthusiasm, curiosity, anxiety, excitement, and all the happiness. And it was time to go for the most awaited outing for every SPITian, the Industrial Visit to Rajasthan (Jaipur, Jodhpur and Jaisalmer), organized by the IEEE-IETE.

The dates planned for the trip were December 28, 2015 to January 4, 2016. Both IEEE and IETE heads, Garvit Bhatt and Prashant Wali, along with their efficient committee members, had planned everything, and made the preparations to assure the best experiences for everyone.

We left on December 28 and reached the next day. The entire train journey was fun, spending time with close friends enjoying themselves. The entire group had assembled in just compartment. No place was small because the real place for everyone was in our hearts.

On reaching Jaipur, we shifted to our hotel, and after lunch we were taken for our Industrial Visit to the Saras Dairy. This Dairy is 45 years old and the owner told us everything about it: how it was established, how it gained fame, how he maintained it, and how the dairy made its mark in the entire city and state. This knowledge and other information about how they manufacture different dairy products daily on such a large scale was really informative.

At the end of the tour, we got really tasty ice cream: this trip in formal clothes kick-started our visit to Rajasthan pretty well. We visited the beautiful Birla Temple, and went to the local bazaar for some shopping. Others went to the hotel for some rest, while some shopped for local fare, sweets, and ethnic items like chappals, pagdi, kurta, bangles and so on. The evening saw a night football match between the second year & third year students – what a sporty event that was!

The next day, December 30, was devoted to sight-seeing, and after breakfast we went off to visit the Amer Fort, Hawa Mahal, the City Palace and other sites. In the evening, we started the overnight journey to reach Jaisalmer, the Golden City – also the coldest of the three. Everyone was tired from the day’s touring, so they slept off without thinking twice. The bus journey was delayed – we faced some difficulties, but they were dealt with smartly by the two committees.

On reaching Jaisalmer late morning on December 31, we were allotted tents and cottages – a completely new experience for us to stay in the middle of the sandy desert. It was New Year’s Eve, so there was a complete entertainment programme in place for the evening. Traditional folk dances by the Banjara community were quite good – we even joined them in the dance, which was followed by a DJ and a feast, when we welcomed the New Year hugging, dancing madly, and enjoying every moment with each other.

The New Year’s morning was devoted to adventure sports – Zip Line, Land Zorbing, Bungee Run and other interesting sports. Then began the most enjoyable event: the Camel Safari. This was a completely different experience, and we even raced with the camels and among ourselves down the hill. Later, we visited the Gadisar Lake and Jaisalmer Fort. The open air dinner under the moonlight, and the bonfire at night couldn’t help beat the chill, but we didn’t care. What a start to the New Year it was!

Early next morning we departed for the Blue City Jodhpur, which had the most pleasant climate of all. The entire day was devoted to shopping at the local bazaars, and everyone got something for themselves and their families: sweets like Ghewar and the Rajasthani Farsan mixes were in maximum demand.

On January 3, we visited the Mehrangarh Fort and Umaid Bhavan Palace after breakfast. Knowing about the history of India’s Maharajas – their lavish lives and vintage cars – ended our trip on a high note. We didn’t really want to leave, but were soon dropped off at Jodhpur Junction station to board our train back to Mumbai.

The return journey was fun too – everyone was reminiscing every moment of the trip, looking at the pictures they had clicked, the group photos and selfies, the mesmerizing sunset scenes – each picture telling a different story. A story telling the fun we all had, a story of the hard work the organizers put in, a story about the covalent bonds of our friendships old & new, and a story of promises of keeping these friendships last till our last breaths. These memories of the IV will remain stuck in my mind for a long time to come, and these joyful and soothing moments will be remembered for infinity by everyone!

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