Harwood's India Travel Study is showing a student-produced documentary at Zenbarn this Sunday, June 1.
The community is invited to come to the Zenbarn in Waterbury for the event which runs from 4 to 6 p.m. The film, “Ekta” means unity and oneness in Hindi. It is the result of a collaboration between Harwood Union High School students and their peers from the Himalayan Inter College in Chaukori, India.
Harwood students spent time in India in April and November 2024.
“We worked hard on this film and hope that it gives insight into the culture that we witnessed as a group. We hope to see you there,” said educator Erin Dezell, who along with Tedin Lange, chaperoned the trip.
In November Lange and Dezell traveled to India with five seniors: Izzy Fish, Lucy Badger, Ava Poutre, Ellie Buckingham, and Dagne Pippenger.
This film is the result of work the teams did on their second trip. The first trip occurred in April of 2024. This crew went in November of 2024, to have clearer views of the Himalayas.
“April is during the fire season, when the mountainsides are plagued with wildfires (and was a featured component in last year's documentary focused on land preservation and conservation),” Lange said.
Uttarakhand is the state of northern India where the Harwood contingent spent most of their time. Their partner school, the Himalayan Inter College, is located in Chaukori, a town in Uttarakhand. They spent most of their time at the school.
This event at the Zenbarn is free and open to the public. Folks can order drinks and snacks at the Zenbarn.
Prior to the showing of the film, the students have prepared a short presentation and will also do a Q&A after the film.
“We hope to return to India next year, likely in April due to logistics, as November is a challenging time to be away during senior year,” Dezell said.
