Summer camps become 'cool' in hot Jaipur

Jaipur, May 25 (UNI) Summer vacations are no longer a time to laze around but for trooping off to a summer camp to learn "useful skills".

Gone are the days when summer vacation simply meant going off to granny's house, frolicking in the cool shades of the green garden, climbing the trees to pluck the delicious mango, or just having fun with cousins, uncles, aunts of the extended families.

Now summer activity is the buzzword. Art, theatre, swimming, painting, dancing, toy, mask-making, yoga, martial arts, cookery, etching, sculpture, spoken English, writing, journalism - and anything and everything are available at these summer camps.

Most schools here are conducting summer camps and minting money in the process too. City's Jawahar Kala Kendra also holds one-month camps every year which costs Rs 350. There is paper craft, papier mache, drama, synthesisers and folk dances courses on offer, officials said.

There is also Shiamak Davar dance workshops where not only students but even parents enjoy tapping their feet. The workshop often culminates with a grand show put up by the learners.

Many celebrities are coming down to Jaipur to hold special workshops in their fields and charging hefty amounts too. Nobody seems to mind the extra money spent. However, some summer camps are absolutely free, like the one held every year in City Palace, where only the form costs Rs 100.

But since the free ones are very few, most parents depend on nearby school summer camps even if it means to burn a hole in their pockets.

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