39 students and 4 teachers from College Sacré Coeur and Lycée Saint Joseph, Lamballe, the two partner schools in France visited Sushila Birla Girls' School from 12th December to 20th December 2023. Upon their arrival on the 12th, the visitors were accorded a warm welcome both in the school and later at the French Consulate where they were addressed by Didier Talpain, the Consul General, Consulate of France and Frantz Sidi Ami, the Cultural Attaché.
From 13th to 19th December, the guests from France along with their Indian counterparts were taken to various places like St. Paul's Cathedral, Victoria Memorial, Alipore Jail Museum, Princep Ghat and the Indian Museum to explore the rich cultural heritage of the city. They also visited Greenic, a picturesque organic farm at Kalyani where all students were taken on a tour of the farm and learnt about vermicomposting and fishing. Later in the week, they went to Chandannagar and visited the Dupleix Museum, the Institut de Chandannagar; studied the French influence on the architecture of the place and attended a fete at St. Joseph's Convent School.
Apart from the various day outings, the French students, along with their 4 teachers, participated in several in-school activities namely non-flame cooking, Indian tribal mask painting, yoga, quiz on the culture of India and France, local newspaper reading session and learnt Indian traditional songs and dances.
The wonderful cultural exchange between the schools from France and Sushila Birla Girls' School came to an end on the 20th of December with a farewell ceremony in which the French students and their Indian counterparts joined hands to present a fusion of Bengali and French songs, dance to the beats of a Bengali song, revisit the memories of the days spent together through a video presentation and finally participate in a fashion show dressed in ethnic wear. The occasion was graced by Frantz Sidi Ami, the Cultural Attaché, Consulate of France.
It was truly an enriching experience for the Indians and French alike.
