Student Exchange programs at the different B-Schools are an integral part of the whole experience that the 2-years of management degree offers. Besides the peer learning in terms of academics, these programs offer both the incoming students and the host school students to know a bit more about the culture of their classmates from the other side of the world. IIM Lucknow welcomes students from a diverse set of schools to its campus every year and as the term is nearing its end, the exchange students got together to give the hosts a flavor of their hospitality and their culture. The very jovial exchange students put together a sumptuous Euro Dinner and also organized a fun-filled Euro night which was a refreshing break for the students and faculty alike.
When the exchange students arrived, one of the challenges for them in adjusting to a foreign land was the food. With the eating styles distinctly different between Europe and India, and the mess serving primarily Indian food, it wasn’t a smooth sail. The spicy Indian food cooked in a generous serving of oil doesn’t bode well with the flavours they are used to. As they gradually made peace with the Indian flavours, they decided to give us a taste of their lip-smacking delicacies. When one fine day the IIM Lucknow community received an invitation to the “Euro Dinner”, as it is called, the students were visibly excited. With promises of a 3-course meal from soups to pasta to brownies, the students-who like normal residential students are always on the look-out for breaks from the mess food, were certainly not complaining. The gracious hosts set about preparing for the D-Day in collaboration with the mess staff, whom they helped to get the authentic flavours right by demonstrating how its done. (How we wish we had a picture of them cooking in our mess!) With the mess looking pretty decorated with lights and with the much awaited inter-IIM sports meet, Sangharsh’s launch scheduled for the same time, the atmosphere was charged up.
An idea of the success of the dinner can be drawn from the simple fact that reaching the mess just 15 minutes from the scheduled “start” time for the dinner would lead one to be greeted with a place Cho-a-bloc with people happily munching away. While everything from the soup to the Russian salad to the Creamy veggies was well received, the stars of the show were Batter fried Chicken and the Truffle brownie. The non-vegetarians, who are generally a happier bunch in this ‘City of Nawabs’, were delighted further as one could see them loading their plates and eating to their hearts contentment. All plans of diet and calorie control went out of the window as the brownies were devoured with extra chocolate sauce. The light music in the background was the perfect setting for the delightful evening.
The Euro Night was another gala night with dance, music and loads of masti! With an enthusiastic crowd and a fun quiz with goodies for the audience, it was a fun night appreciated by one and all. The students sang carols, and even put together a fashion show with good looking models in the form of the exchange students. But, the noise from the crowd reached a feverish pitch as the students danced to Hindi numbers including some Honey Singh songs.
Curious to find out about the work behind the events, we spoke to one of the exchange students, Guillaume, who told us how they put together the whole act in just a couple of days amidst their tight schedule loaded with quizzes and exams. The effort is truly appreciated and these students with remain IIM Lucknow Alumni forever. As the students are ready to go back to their parent universities in less than a week, we hope they will visit the campus and the country again, as they come back to explore more of the country, which, in their own words, they have fallen in love with.
- Swati Thakur
(This article is written by Swati Thakur, a supposed economist, proven day-dreamer, self-certified poet. She is a PGP student at IIM Lucknow, batch of 2016 and is the Creative Head and Core Coordinator of the Media and Communication Cell at IIM Lucknow. )
