Grade 8 completed their field trip titled “Colonial Tales” as part of the Madras Week celebrations integrated with their learning on the Social Science topic of Exploration & Colonization. The trip kickstarted at one of the oldest churches in India, the Portuguese-built (in 1516), 500-year-old Our Lady of the Light Church, popularly known as the Luz Church. This gave the learners a sense of the impact of the early Portuguese explorers and missionaries who came to the city of Madras( through the port of Mylapore).
This was followed by a visit to the San Thome Basilica, one of the three churches in the world that houses a relic of one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ. Originally built by the Portuguese, the initial structure was burnt down and the present-day structure has been built by the British colonizers using the neo-Gothic style.
The final destination was Fort St. George, the landmark monument built by the British, post their colonization of India. Learners visited the museum and got a glimpse of the arms, armory, uniforms, and porcelain used by the British. They also visited the St. Mary’s Anglican Church, built in 1680 inside the fort and one of the oldest British constructions in India.
Overall the trip conducted by Story Trails gave them an insightful historical experience of Madras and its tryst with explorers and colonizers.
