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Dynamic change in an ancient culture

From the high tech industries of Bangalore -- India’s answer to Silicon Valley -- to thousands of rural villages seemingly untouched by time, India encompasses both the dynamic forces of globalization and the deep-rooted traditions of an ancient culture.

The dichotomy is woven into everyday life in India -- cows interrupt the streams of cars and trucks on the roads, and farmers work with hand tools in fields under the flight paths of jumbo jets.

India is also a nation marked by diversity, encompassing a multiplicity of religions, ethnicities, political states, languages and art forms. Its founding democratic principles continue to unfold and adapt amidst political, economic and social restructuring.

On the interdisciplinary ACM India Studies Program in Pune, students have the rare opportunity to experience India’s dynamism and diversity firsthand through courses, independent study and daily life in an Indian home and community.

Left: A program participant talks with a group of people outside the Dnyaneshwar Temple in Alandi, which is a short bus ride from Pune.

Below: India Studies participants with students in Phaltan. (Photo courtesy of Jessica Schachterle)