Despite Ganeshotsav holidays, Vidya Prasarak Mandal’s Bedekar Institute of Management Studies was anything but empty on Thursday.
This was thanks to the presence of 15 students from Kyoto Sangyo University in Kyoto, Japan, who are visiting the institute as part of a cultural exchange programme. Dressed in traditional Indian clothes and mehendi hands, the Japanese students said they were excited to learn about Indian culture.
“We are a group of 15 students and two teachers. It’s been four days in Thane and we are having a great time knowing about the culture and tradition of India,” said Kiyokuni Shiga, teacher, Kyoto Sangyo University.
“There were many prejudices that students had about India; they were worried about safety — was the water is safe to drink and a few more hygiene issues. However, most of this has changed as the students feel comfortable after the warm welcome. They have been interacting with other students and teachers and knowing more about the city,” said Shiga, who was dressed in a kurta-pyjama.
“For this weather, the traditional attire is very comfortable and functional. I sometimes wear this in Japan as well,” he said.
Shiga said all his students, who will be in India till September 15, were keen to purchase a saree as they fancied the simple attire.
{{/usCountry}}Shiga said all his students, who will be in India till September 15, were keen to purchase a saree as they fancied the simple attire.
{{/usCountry}}In the four days since they arrived, the Japanese students have interacted with their Indian counterparts, visited household Ganpati celebrations and witnessed folk dance shows.
“We find the dance moves graceful,” said Sakura Koyama, student from Kyoto University.
Another student, Ayano Horiuchi, loved applying mehendi.
“We were surprised to see the creativity involved. They were also very quick applying it. We had to wait for it to dry and we became tired doing that. But the colour looks amazing.”
Vaishali S, student from Bedekar College who was helping the Japanese students, said, “They are very curious and excited, they have questions and are participating in all activities with excitement. We are also learning a lot from them as they told us about some similarities in Indian and Japanese cultures.”
Vijay Bedekar, president of Vidya Prasarak Mandal, said, “We are gradually introducing various aspects of Indian culture to the students.”
“This is informative and they may find the colours in our celebration interesting. Both sets of students from India as well as Japan get to learn a lot in this programme. They also get to learn each other’s language, which is enlightening for all,” he added.