International Council gathers at nagaloka
February 1-10th 2025Practical information
plans are developing…
It is an exciting time for the International Council as we focus our attention on our February meeting at Nagaloka. It will be the first meeting with our new Chair Mahamati. He starts in November, and he is very positive about the International Council and its importance for Triratna’s future.
In looking ahead to taking over from Ratnadharini as both Chair of the College as well as Chair of the IC, he is actively exploring with others how these two bodies could work more closely and effectively together. So he will be sharing his vision for this and inviting your ideas, concerns and questions as well as your enthusiasm.
In addition, we plan to move forwards with our agreed strategic priorities, with the ambition of developing practical steps leading to tangible outcomes.
More thought and planning will take place to make the meeting a really useful and memorable one. We look forward to sharing quality time together.
What follows is everything you need to know – let us know if you have any questions.
Most people will be travelling directly from the Order Convention in Bodhgaya. After initially suggesting going by train to Nagpur we have been persuaded it will take too long and perhaps unreliable, so we are recommending flying from Gaya airport, via Kolkata to Nagpur.
This is the flight we suggest on Friday 31st January (the convention finishes that morning):
- time 16:50, flight number 6E 6157 to Kolkata, then
- flight 6E 862 to Nagpur departing at 20:25. It arrives in Nagpur at 22:20 – we will arrange taxis/transport to Nagaloka
- flights can be booked using Indigo
During your stay you may wish to consider using an ‘e-sim’ for your smart phone – this one is recommended but of course there are others.
Midway through our stay we will enjoy an outing which will incorporate the new retreat centre Sudarshanabhumi as well as the Dhikshabhumi where Dr Ambedkar converted in 1956
Important Visa information
You will need a tourist e-visa at least 4 days before you fly. You can get one on indianvisaonline.gov.in
The online application can be quite involved depending on your history:
- definitely choose tourist visa and do not mention the IC meeting in Nagaloka
- they ask for a contact in India and we are advised to use the hotel in Bodhgaya we are staying in, not individual Order Members, nor Nagaloka
- they ask if you have visited India before – easy if not, but if you have, they ask for dates/details of previous visa, cities you visited etc, not easy if a long time ago!
- they ask which countries you have visited in the last 10 years
- you need to upload a pdf of your main passport page – take a good photo, crop it as needed, and use an online conversion such as ilovepdf.com
- you also need to upload a clear recent photo of your face/head with a white/pale background as a jpeg (no bigger than 1MB file size)
- it costs $25 non-refundable payable by credit card or paypal
Any trouble or questions, email Aparajita (assistant@internationalcouncil.online)
Accommodation and food
We’ve asked you what you preferences are for accommodation (and any particular food requirements) based on these prices, applicable to all:
- food costs 700 rupees per day
- twin, shared room with AC 1000 rupees each, per day
- single room with AC 2000 rupess per day
- dormitory 250 rupees per day plus shared cost of a AC/cooler
- we’ll collect cash (rupees) payments early in your stay at Nagaloka – you have all been informed of the cost for your circumstances
Dates, arrivals, departures
You are welcome to arrive on the Friday evening as suggested and we will have a relaxed programme on the Saturday and start formally on Saturday evening, 1st February.
If necessary you could arrive on the Sunday but after that it would be too disruptive to arrive – I’m sure you understand.
The meeting finishes after breakfast on Monday 10th.
As ever, don’t hesitate to contact us with questions or suggestions:
assistant@internationalcouncil.online