HANCOCKLibrary presents ‘Back to India’

Hancock Town Library, 25 Main St., will present “Back to India” with Betsy DiPrima Thursday, Nov. 16, at 7 p.m. in the Daniels Room.

DiPrima will travel back to the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand for two weeks, first by train to Nainital, a hill station 6 1/2 hours from New Delhi, and then by taxi for 7 1/2 hours to another hill station, Chaukori, located at the foothills of the Himalayas.  Chaukori, a bowl-shaped hill station with views of Nanda Devi and Panchachuli peaks, is the location of Himalaya Inter College (HIC), a private nursery-to-12th-grade school with more than 900 students. The Himalayan Education Foundation (HEF) is a nonprofit organization that raises funds to provide scholarships for girls, who often leave school after eighth grade.

As a retired educator and avid traveler, DiPrima jumped at the idea of traveling with HEF to volunteer at the school. This will be her fourth trip to work with Principal Devbala Bisht. She will also be working with the women's cooperative, Himalayan Naari, located in the same village. She will then travel to the state of Rajasthan to the International Folk Festival in Jodhpur, and the royal city of Udaipur.

The event is free and open to all.