Greenery all around, the clean cool water of river Indrayani, the colorful kayaks and the enthusiastic crowd – this was the setting of Jalmaitri. Jalmaitri is a water camp held every year and this year it was held in Tulapur.
It aims at teaching students kayaking, showing them the basics in an enjoyable manner. The motive behind the water camp is to create awareness on water pollution and introduce the new students of COEP to the Boat Club and its many activities in the most interactive way possible.
This year the Jalmaitri camp was well attended, students of almost all years came to enjoy a 2-day long get away. They were divided into groups in the beginning and each group was given a chance to kayak. Also, the festival of Makar Sankranti was on one of the days so kite flying was another activity. In the evening there were games and events like sack race, one legged race and more. The evening was made memorable by a big bonfire, where people sang songs and enjoyed a lot.
The next day the issue of water pollution was talked about and then the students helped in maintaining the cleanliness of the area by picking up waste and cleaning the campus. This small gesture also taught many people the importance of a clean and green environment. The camp was all in all a big success and people learnt a lot – be it kayaking, kite flying, making new friends or just having a time off from their busy academic schedule. So see you there next time around !