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August 12, 2004
• Full Disclosure Full Disclosure Take a life-changing trip to India Story Body:Alexander Souri of Great Barrington is offering adventure travelers an exceptional experience. Here's the description from his Web site: "A maximum of 15 riders will embark on a 15-day journey to five remote villages in rural Rajasthan. The caravan will be led by our skilled support team, and will include eight to 10 camels, a herd of goats, and our supplies ... Our accommodations will consist of tented encampments set up by our support team along the journey route. Riders will average 20 to 25 miles a day, about three to five hours of riding at a comfortable pace, stopping for three meals a day ... As we travel to each village, riders will help to set up the medical camps, work with the Red Cross team, distribute books and other educational materials to local schools or help to give goats to families in need." When asked where the idea for the trip originated, Souri said, "It came from a time of re-assessing my life. I'd lost my father, which sent me off on my own journey. I feel that I’m finally living my archetype." Souri's father was from India; his mother is French. He grew up in New York City, traveling extensively in India and in France. "I feel so many cultures in me -- I’m French and Indian and American -- I feel at home there, I feel at home here. I’m from everywhere and nowhere at the same time." One of the unique facets of the trips Souri offers is that they are on horseback. The explanation is that Souri has been a rider since his childhood. "When I was a child my father gave me riding lessons in Delhi -- which I loved." At the age of 8, he started boarding school in India, and that is where his love of horseback riding began. Over the four years that he was there, he had access to horses, and used to ride, fearlessly, he said, around Lake Nanital. Souri says that his time on horseback was a kind of therapy, helping him deal with the loneliness of being away from his parents. "That was the moment for me and the horses -- a very healing experience." Souri later attended school in France, as well as spending time at Simon's Rock College of Bard in Great Barrington. Great Barrington is home base because, Souri says, of some wonderful friends. "I suspect I’ll always be connected to the Berkshires." Souri is also a pilot and has flown across the Atlantic in a single engine plane more than once, so adventure travel of all kinds is familiar to him. But the Relief Rider trip was designed to be a life-changing experience for the participants. Souri says, "I like helping people. It's an immense experience to be able to effect positive change for them. "You just have to give back. Giving back really helped me, and taught me a lot about myself. When kids come up to you and they're hungry, you can take $5 and feed them for a month. They have great dignity. I designed this ride so that it would not be awkward for the riders. It’s an experience that allows you to grow." The trip promises to be an interesting mixture of luxury and adventure. Departure is from New Delhi on Oct. 22 -- guests must provide their own airfare. Souri says he has participants coming from around the world, and that there are some spots still available. The cost for the trip, not including the airfare, is $4,800. Souri is working with Kanwar Raghuvenvra Singh Dundlod, the finest horseback outfitter in India, he says. Dundlod is based at a 350-year-old Rajput fort. The Indian horses for the trip are a special, very exalted breed, Souri says, warrior horses from Rajasthan. The Rajputs prized the animals and took them into battle. The horses are desert horses, well-acclimated to the climate. The horses that will be used on the trip have a fifth gait called the revolve, which allows the rider to travel a long distance at a trot without posting. Participants will stay overnight at the Imperial Hotel in New Delhi and travel the next day to the fort. Once there, they will organize, based on experience and skills, and then help load the caravan. The first stretch on horseback is 18 miles to the first village. Support crews will travel ahead to make camp while the participants work with the villagers. The riders will meet with the medical staff before each village stop. The plan is to assess those who need medical attention and do general treatment. "On the second ride, we'll be able to do more advanced treatment," Souri says. He has planned two itineraries, so that the same villages will be visited regularly. Souri will be on every ride. "It's based on the heroes journey -- Joseph Campbell is a hero of mine. I just want to offer it to other people." Souri explained that it's fairly important that the participants have some horseback riding skill. The trip is adjusted for varied levels of riding experience, he says. There will be a faster-paced group and a slower group that will stay with the caravan. There will be a group of support vehicles, providing cooks, food, tents, hot showers in the desert. "It’s not meant to be difficult," Souri says, "but it is the desert." Souri admits that "to put together something like this is a huge endeavor." Souri was able to draw on his skills and experiences in special events and film production. "It's important to note that I designed this for the rider. That’s the magic of this ride -- all the experiences that happen between the rider and his surroundings and the people they will meet." As for the climate, Souri said that the temperatures will be in the mid-80s during the day and in the 60s at night. The landscape is filled with wildlife -- birds, buffalo. Souri says it is a scenic tour, meant to be a real mesh of cultures and the relief experience. The riders will be setting up medical camps, taking textbooks and school supplies to the village children, and implementing an HIV/AIDS education program with the Indian Red Cross. A future project will be to have electricity made available to the village schools. As many as 120 goats will travel with the caravan, going to two of the villages, to be given to families. Souri has arranged to deliver relief with a minimal overhead. The riders' fee pays for the relief supplies. He says that "India is a huge experience in patience and in wonder." The country has grown, he says, and the economy is good. "It's nice the world is discovering the ancient traditions. It’s a living culture." For information on Relief Riders International, visit www.reliefridersinternational.com or call 329-5876. |
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