‘Pakistan is a beautiful place, so don’t forget to visit it!’
Students send snapshots of the country’s natural wonders to Indian counterparts.
Indian students prepare a poster for their counterparts across the border. PHOTO COURTESY: CAP
Pakistani students are really eager for their Indian counterparts to have a glimpse of breathtaking sights in the country. But what to do when the strict visa regimes aren’t getting any softer? They have a simple solution: take the spectacular sights to the Indian students instead.
Under the most recent round of the Exchange for Change programme, over 3,500 students from 17 schools across both countries have packed colourful snippets of their culture and history into envelopes which were shipped across the border. The programme has been initiated by the Citizens Archive of Pakistan and Delhi-based Routes 2 Roots in an attempt to build friendships between schoolchildren of both countries. The pilot phase of the programme, which involved 10 schools and about 2,500 students, was successfully completed a little over a year ago.
In the most recent round, students have gone beyond words, preferring to let pictures speak for themselves. So when one Indian student opened his letter, he got a dazzling visual treat: the image of the sparkling green waters of Saiful Muluk cradled by snowcapped mountains.
Another postcard bore a picture of Quaid-e-Azam’s mausoleum. “Pakistan is a beautiful place. Don’t forget to visit it,” said the message accompanying the picture. Yet another student had sent a picture of himself dressed as the Quaid along with the founder’s famous motto, “work, work and more work”.
Others had gotten together in groups and prepared elaborate poster collages. One of them had an array of pictures of mouthwatering desi treats while another which addressed the theme of weddings had photos of a bride with elaborate henna patterns on her hands as well as a shy groom clad in a sherwani.
The programme is set to end with a student exchange. Though the children crossing the border might not have the chance to physically visit all of Pakistan’s attractions, the pictures ensure that they at least get a chance to see what might not be on their itinerary.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 20th, 2013.
Under the most recent round of the Exchange for Change programme, over 3,500 students from 17 schools across both countries have packed colourful snippets of their culture and history into envelopes which were shipped across the border. The programme has been initiated by the Citizens Archive of Pakistan and Delhi-based Routes 2 Roots in an attempt to build friendships between schoolchildren of both countries. The pilot phase of the programme, which involved 10 schools and about 2,500 students, was successfully completed a little over a year ago.
In the most recent round, students have gone beyond words, preferring to let pictures speak for themselves. So when one Indian student opened his letter, he got a dazzling visual treat: the image of the sparkling green waters of Saiful Muluk cradled by snowcapped mountains.
Another postcard bore a picture of Quaid-e-Azam’s mausoleum. “Pakistan is a beautiful place. Don’t forget to visit it,” said the message accompanying the picture. Yet another student had sent a picture of himself dressed as the Quaid along with the founder’s famous motto, “work, work and more work”.
Others had gotten together in groups and prepared elaborate poster collages. One of them had an array of pictures of mouthwatering desi treats while another which addressed the theme of weddings had photos of a bride with elaborate henna patterns on her hands as well as a shy groom clad in a sherwani.
The programme is set to end with a student exchange. Though the children crossing the border might not have the chance to physically visit all of Pakistan’s attractions, the pictures ensure that they at least get a chance to see what might not be on their itinerary.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 20th, 2013.