Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat: Students from Himachal Pradesh make a successful five-day visit to Kochi

Learn about local cuisine, culture and several aspects of Kerala state

Simla/ Delhi, July 06 – As part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav – Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat (AKAM-EBSB) 50 students from Shimla, Himachal Pradesh concluded there visit to Kochi, Kerala recently. Out of the 50 students, 25 were from 11th and 12th standard students of Senior Secondary Schools in and around Shimla and Una (13 boys and 12 girls) and 25 were from B.Tech students (15 boys and 10 girls) from the University Institute of Technology (UIT), Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla. They were accompanied by four teachers. The team visited various places in Kochi from June 28 to July 03, 2022. SCMS Cochin School of Business was the host institute. Himachal Pradesh and Kerala are paired states under Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat.

The team was in Kochi as part of the student exchange programme under the unique initiative of the government Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat. Taking forward the exchange programme the students from Himachal Pradesh visited Chendamangalam Handloom weavers cooperative society, tried their hands at cooking local cuisine like sambar at Rasa Gurukul kitchen in Chalakudy.

On the concluding day, the students also participated in a meeting between the educational institutions of the two states in a programme organised by the State Government’s Samgra Shiksha Kerala (SSK) and interacted with the students of the Government Higher Secondary School in Kalamassery.

As part of the programme, the team also visited famous ASI monuments and local museums such as the Museum of Kerala History in Edappally, Durbar Hall Art Gallery in Ernakulam, Hill Palace Museum in Tripunithura and Kerala Folklore Museum at Thevara. In addition, a special session of Kalaripayatt was arranged for the group to learn about indigenous arts and sports. The students from Himachal Pradesh also made cultural performances before the students of Kerala.

The visit was being facilitated by the Union Ministry of Education and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), New Delhi.