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IIM Calcutta Students Visit "We crossed the border only to find ourselves in the same country again," was the common sentiment amongst the students of the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, India’s premier business school, who visited Lahore University of Management Studies (LUMS) in Pakistan on a cultural exchange program recently. Students from LUMS had visited Indian business schools earlier in 2004, and IIM Calcutta was the first Indian Business School to reciprocate the gesture by sending a student delegation on a 5-day visit to LUMS. The path-breaking initiative to pave the way for future academic relations and exchanges was entirely student-driven, though actively supported by the respective heads of the Institutes. The proposal to visit their counterparts across the border was met with wide-spread enthusiasm by the students of IIM Calcutta. As many as 40 students aspired to be part of the 8-member delegation. The tough decision to select the members was only an indication of things to come. The obstacles in obtaining the necessary security clearances from the Pakistan side and coordinating at Delhi for visas threatened to jeopardise the trip. However, tenacious students at either end overcame the administrative bottlenecks and procured the coveted permission to cross the Indo-Pak border on foot at Attari/Wagah. Setting foot on Pakistani soil while looking back at the Indian tricolour fluttering in the breezy winter morning was a poignant moment for the students, some of whom were visiting the land their grandparents had migrated from, post-Partition. The warm welcome by the students of LUMS was memorable, and the bonhomie and instant bonding made the entire effort behind the exercise seem worthwhile. The Culture Society at LUMS, who played hosts, had drawn out an extensive itinerary; which gave a comprehensive glimpse into a city that is widely considered Delhi’s twin. While the predictable shopping and sight-seeing were very much a part of the agenda, there were also a tour of LUMS, a music concert, a traditional Pakistani wedding and, most importantly for some, tea with the legendary Imran Khan thrown in for good measure. The Pakistani students were most enthused about a panel discussion on a student’s perspective of the future of Indo-Pak relations. The discussion was conducted by Pakistan’s TV channel ‘Geo’, to be aired on their hugely popular program ‘Pachaas Minute’. Our eclectic exposure to all that is Lahore led Zain, a student of LUMS who hailed from Karachi, to remark that the Indians had seen more of Lahore in five days than he had in more than a year! Contributed by - |
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