The first two weeks of the guide training program are complete, and I am genuinely impressed with the quality of education here. The institute is excellent, and the professors are both helpful and friendly. On the first day, we were introduced to the institute and its staff. They also briefed us on swine flu, including its symptoms, and advised us to take care of our health. If anyone exhibits symptoms, there is a designated department at the institute to assist them by arranging visits to a government hospital.

The professors here are exceptional. Many of them teach at foreign universities annually. This is a stark contrast to my previous experience with strict teachers at my previous schools and university. Here, the professors are very approachable and use a lot of technology. They all have laptops and use projectors to present PowerPoint slides. Initially, the training was to be conducted at the institute, but due to a lack of available air-conditioned rooms—occupied by other programs—the venue was changed. We are now using a hotel conference room with air conditioning.

Participants are divided into four batches: A, B, C, and D. Batches A and B attend sessions from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., while batches C and D have sessions from 2:15 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. I am in the second batch. Over 95% of the participants are experienced unauthorized guides, and I am the only one in my batch without prior experience with a travel agency. Some participants are over 55 years old.

Before each session, the professors encourage participants to share their knowledge if they disagree with any content, as they acknowledge that we may have more information in certain areas. Our professors are not only from IITTM but also from various universities and institutions across India. Each day features a different professor lecturing on a new subject. The institute emphasizes that a tour guide is a living encyclopedia and therefore invites experts from diverse fields to provide comprehensive training.

While our training focuses on North India, we have had professors discussing other regions, such as the West and South. Most classes have been engaging, but two stood out as particularly unusual. One was on Indian astrology, which could have been interesting if it had covered the basics. Instead, the professor delved into advanced topics and was more focused on marketing his services, offering his business card and inviting us to his office in Rajasthan for personal consultations.

Another class, on menu planning in hotels, was less relevant to our training. It would have been more interesting if it had covered hotel culture, but instead, it focused on how hotels plan their menus and generate revenue from their restaurants. None of the participants found this class particularly useful or relevant to our guide training.

We are receiving instruction on a wide range of topics, including different segments of tourism, religions, cultures, cuisine, IT in tourism, and the tourism industry both in India and abroad. One segment that particularly intrigued me was LGBT tourism. I had not been familiar with this aspect of tourism before, but it seems fascinating. Given that no other students are focusing on this topic, I see it as a unique opportunity to align my research with the guide training program.

The professors are also addressing various social issues, such as the Coca-Cola controversy, environmental concerns, water issues, and women’s rights. In a class on IT in tourism, we covered blogging. Although I already knew about blogging, emailing, and web design, I inquired about search engine optimization. The professor did not address it, likely because most participants were unfamiliar with the Internet and he did not want to delve into advanced topics in that context. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the class.

The program coordinator mentioned that we should be proud of the training provided, noting that previous programs had only organized around 20 classes, whereas this year’s program includes at least 75 classes on various subjects. I am thoroughly enjoying the training and am eagerly anticipating my research on LGBT tourism in Benares.