Scholar-Journalist of the Week: Educational excursion to Agra

A class 5 student at Apeejay School, Saket, Nikhil Shukla, enjoys reading and writing. His favourites are fantasy books which contain indispensable awe and wonder. For those starting to write, Nikhil’s advice is to feel free to express your views. ‘Pen down your thoughts and share them without thinking much,” he says as he shares more about himself. Read On:

Please tell us about your interests/hobbies.

Travelling and gardening excite me! And as far as academics is concerned, Mathematics and Science are my favourite subjects.

How many places have you been to?

Quite many! I have travelled to the United States, Switzerland, just to name a few overseas. In India, I have been to Kerala, Goa, Mumbai, Pondicherry and Shimla. All of these were part of our family vacations.

And, why gardening?

I love to take care of plants. It is very soothing and relaxing. In fact, I would say that the activity itself is like taking a mini vacation. At home, I have about 30 different varieties of plants about which I am still learning. I treat them like my siblings with as much love and care.

What have been the learnings from your travel?

My favourite was Switzerland because it is very unique. I saw many new things there like trams. Visiting the city was refreshing!

Tell us more about your Scholar-Journalist write-up: Educational excursion to Agra.

My article was about our school’s excursion to Agra. There, I learnt about the Taj Mahal, how it was built and how the city of Agra came into existence. Many of my queries were answered during the trip. Myths related to the structure were busted, especially the one in which people assume that the Mughal ruler Shah Jahan chopped off the hands of the workers, builders of Taj Mahal once it was completed.

Agra was very nice! I loved my time at Pushp Villa – the restaurant there. Another fun aspect was spending time with my friends and teachers while travelling. We sang many songs along the way!

Do you think that it is possible to replicate the Taj Mahal today?

I strongly believe that replicating a structure of such grandiose should not be the agenda today. Our modern technologies and knowledge must be put to good use to preserve the history and the structure we have inherited.

If you had the time and money, where would you like to go?

I want to visit Japan. It has a lot of history and culture. I love the journey to a new place and that is a very important part of my experience.