Relief Riders International: Take a life changing trip to India
Relief Riders International Leads Horseback Tours on an Adventure Experience through the Thar Desert of Rajasthan, India, while Providing Relief to Communities in Need
(PRWEB) September 17, 2004 -- The best way to help mankind is through the
perfection of yourself. -Lord Krishna
Sophisticated travelers who have
been to India have likely been awestruck by the splendors of the Taj Mahal,
luxuriated on the Royal Train, and dined on Delhi delights. But Alexander Souri,
the New York-born son of an Indian father and a French mother, is offering
nothing less than a journey that promises to be the experience of a lifetime.
As founder and executive director of Relief Riders International (RRI),
this October he will lead fifteen participants (limited space is available at
the time of this writing) on a unique horseback ride through the Thar Desert of
Rajasthan, India. On this fifteen day sojourn, these humanitarian adventurers
will travel through five extraordinarily beautiful remote villages, where they
will interact with local residents as they deliver food, medical supplies,
medical care, and dozens of goats.
Kanwar Raghuvenvra
Singh Dundlod which is based at a 350-year-old Rajput fort is supplying a
special breed of warrior horses from Rajasthan. “The Rajputs prized these
animals and consider them to be Deities” says Souri. “They are acclimated to the
desert climate and have a fifth gait, the ‘Revaal,’ which allows the rider to
travel a long distance at a trot without posting.
In relative comfort,
with temperatures expected to be in the mid-80s during the day and dropping to
the 60s at night, the group will visit ancient villages and old forts, rich in
wildlife such as birds and buffalo. At stops along the way, they will experience
the region’s unique cultural life, with special performances of traditional
dance in Kochor, drumming in Pachar, and tastes of the region’s culinary
specialties.
The participants, who will arrive from various countries,
will depart from New Delhi. Based on their individual skills, they will help
organize the caravan, distribute supplies, and assist the medical team of eye,
ear, nose and throat specialists who will treat hundreds of villagers along the
route. The $4800 per person fee, not including airfare, will cover the cost of
relief supplies.
Support vehicles will provide cooks, food, tents, and
hot showers. Except for a night’s stay at The Imperial Hotel in Delhi, three
nights in forts, and a night in a haveli (a traditional Rajput villa), everyone
will sleep in tents. Riders will average about three to five hours a day at a
comfortable pace, with three stops for meals and ample water available.
In addition to the Relief Rider crew, a support vehicle will carry two
medics and a doctor. Indian Red Cross personnel have developed the first HIV
education program in the region and will distribute educational information and
hold discussions in all the villages. A dozen camels will bear food supplies to
counter the effects of drought, and goats will go to needy families for on-going
sustainability.
Alexander Souri has always had a global perspective on
life. When he was 8, he learned to ride at boarding school in India, which
helped him “deal with missing my parents." He grew up in New York City and
traveled extensively in India and France. He’s produced plays, directed
commercials and industrial films in China, done special effects on “The Matrix”
and “X-Men,” and at film festivals in Cannes, Sundance, and Venice, Italy. More
than once, he’s piloted a single engine plane across the Atlantic.
Souri
bases this innovative trip on the heroes journey — “Joseph Campbell is a hero of
mine,” he says. "The desire to do this came from a time of re-assessing my life.
I'd lost my father, which sent me off on my own journey. Those of us who travel
have known the great gift of experiencing new places, encountering new people,
and seeing the world in new ways,” he says. “This time we will bring to those
places we visit gifts that really matter.”
For more
information:
contact Alexander Souri
304 Main St Suite 3-B, Great
Barrington,MA 01230
Phone(413) 329-5876
E-mail:e-mail protected from
spam bots;
Website: www.reliefridersinternational.com.
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/9/prweb158648.htm