A Novel Exploration of Duke Gardens

When Kusum ji delivered our next job, everyone immediately began exchanging looks with one another. We were to divide up into teams of four, then travel to Duke Gardens to take pictures of the many things we saw there. Due to the fact that the weather was relatively pleasant and warm, we did not have to worry about the falling leaves, incessant rain, and fog that typically accompany the beginning of November. My other teammate Shloka served as the primary instructional leader for our group. I took pictures for the team as the photographer (really, for just having the best phone). Since they searched for everything, Saphal and Sachi were considered to be our "explorers."

Each group's overarching objective was to be the first to accomplish the task and find all of the items; this was their primary motivation. When we visited Perkins, Shloka, Saphal, Sachi, and I looked at the exhibit with a great deal more attention to detail than we normally would. We looked at the extensive history of all of the tables (mez) and chairs (kurseeya), in addition to the many pictures. After carefully detailing each of them, we set off in the direction of the Duke Gardens.

To get to Duke Gardens, one had to travel past academic buildings and then into an area that was not mapped out (I called it the jungle). We went around the corner and entered the building by the side door. The first tiny lake attracted our interest, and it was there that we logged the first item we found on the scavenger quest (a lotus, called kamal in Hindi). It was challenging to take a photo in which all four of us could be seen at the same time, but it was fun to get to know the other students in my class. Then, we continued our adventure into the unknown, only to become bewildered while hunting for blue flowers known as neeli. Given that this was only our first or second time visiting the gardens, we decided to look for a map.

Finding mint and green onions was our last objective in this quest. Following our adventure across the breathtaking red bridge and taking unique photographs of the sun and sky, our final remaining task was as follows. Before we started the long trek to the garden, we made sure that we had a good look at the map. We were aware that the other groups had already arrived at their destination, and that we were the last group. No matter, we decided. We must end. Following our tour of each of the gardens, we made our way on foot back to the classroom. Kusum ji intercepted us and inquired about our experience.

"So much walking! We saw all of Duke Gardens," we reply.

She responds, "Good" with a smile.

Below are a few comments from other Hindi students about their scavenger hunt experience:

Aman, "I enjoyed the scavenger hunt. It was fun looking for the different items, and it was challenging but more interesting because it was in Hindi. It was also good because I went to certain parts of the Duke Gardens which I had never been to before. For example, I had never seen the vegetable garden, and I had not seen the pond either. The activity was relatively simple to follow, and the instructions were overall quite clear. I was able to support my group members in taking pictures and also guiding them if they were uncertain about the meanings of certain Hindi words. I am proud of my ability to read and comprehend Hindi. I generally struggle with reading English words written in Devnagari, and I was able to grasp all of them with less hesitation than usual. In general, I felt supported by my peers, who helped take pictures and navigate our group in the correct direction."

Shloka, "I feel very good after today's session because it was so different from what we normally do in class. I had never gone to the Duke Gardens before this, so it was really nice to see how beautiful the scenery is in-person outside of photos. This was such an engaging and fun activity, and I would definitely love to do it again sometime in the future. Going into the session, I was worried that the scavenger hunt would be difficult for us to complete because I saw that there was such a long list of places we had to take photos. The activity was very easy to follow, and I only had to read the instructions once to understand the task we had been given."

Prisha, "After the scavenger hunt, I felt pretty good. I think that finding the objects and working together helped me learn a lot of the vocabulary, and I liked exploring the Duke Gardens! I wasn't sure if I had any particular expectations going into it besides knowing that we would have to take photos of the things that we found. The activity was fairly easy to follow, especially since we had each other to ask questions."

Tara, " The Scavenger hunt was a lot of fun – I explored the Duke Gardens briefly during my orientation group but it was extremely rushed. I especially enjoyed the randomized groups; Vishal and I become closer friends and I also had fun bonding with Spencer and Vineet as we all attempted to navigate the gardens and complete the scavenger hunt successfully. Personally, I did not expect this session to run as smoothly as it did but I found myself improving in my reading skills. I still need to work on speaking to my group members in Hindi as we tried to solely communicate in Hindi for the first few minutes and I was not strong with vocabulary. The boys were consistently funny and full of energy, which I appreciated because it had been a long day. When we presented in front of the class, I felt supported because the group members all helped out with vocabulary and sentence formation. Specifically, I remember that I was especially proud of deciphering the vegetable garden section and helping to navigate (and discovering that shallots were the same thing as green onions!). Next time we do a group activity, I will try to engage with more than one member of the group and finish more efficiently because we dilly-dallied in the gardens, without consulting a map. "

This event was supported and funded by Asian and Middle Eastern Studies.