By Nate Feldman
It’s very hard to know where to begin with different
adventures I have had in my life. I took
family trips to Canada, the Bahamas, France, and Spain when I was young. I went to England with my brother and mother
in the summer of 2000, the year I graduated from high school. But, I’d definitely say the first really big
adventure I had was going to India in the summer of 2003.
My original purpose for traveling to India that summer
was to study the Arabic language at the Henry Martyn Institute (HMI) in the
city of Hyderabad. I had begun studying
Arabic in the fall of 2002. India, of
course, did not seem like a logical choice to study Arabic since of course, it
is not an Arab country. However, the US
war with Iraq, which began that March, had made the United States extremely
unpopular in the Middle East and North Africa, so I thought it wouldn’t be a
good time to travel to one of those countries.
Furthermore, I had had an interest in India and Indian culture for the
previous two years. When I found that
Arabic was offered as a summer course at HMI, it seemed like a good option.
Another thing that attracted me to the Henry Martyn
Institute was that it’s a center that advances inter-religious dialogue among the
various communities of Hyderabad, something essential in a place famous for
being home to a variety of religions and sects.
Different parts of the city had had communal riots between members of
different faiths. HMI was working to
build bridges of understanding between these people.
The staff had Muslims, Christians, Hindus, and Sikhs
working together. They initiated a lot
of programs in the community to bring people of different religions together to
understand one another and learn to live with one another. For example, I visited a school where people
of different religions were studying with one another. I also saw an embroidery program which
gathered women from the different religions to make different items.
Despite this fascinating experience, I’d say the thing
that I remember most about my time in India was the relationship I built with
people there.
