It was in March 2007 that the Spanish Alumni/ae came to Kolkata, India to spend a week with Indian Alumni/ae visiting social work centres, both urban and rural. They exchanged ideas, thoughts and experiences during the day and were graciously hosted in the evenings at homes of several alumni for cultural interaction.
Ever since, the Indian alumni had been planning a return visit. About 10 people from different Indian alumni associations planned to go to Spain in July 2007. Unfortunately, all did not work out as the visas did not come in time and the visit had to be put on hold.
But the hope remained and in 2008 due to the persistent efforts of Sidharth Dudhoria and Anindya Tarafder, the ball got rolling again. The visit was slated for September and the visas applied for 3 months before that. The only hiccup was that this time many aspirants backed out as the departure time drew near. Finally, there Arijeet Chakrabarty from St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata, Debashis Hazra & Kiran Mondal from St. Xavier’s School, Burdwan and Sai Kapoor & myself from St. Xavier’s School, Kolkata who were all set to leave for an eight day return visit to Spain in the first ever Alumni Exchange Programme.
The 5 members met up at the Delhi Airport on 18th September to board the flight to Madrid via Amsterdam. The game was now afoot. On 19th September the group finally reached their destination – Madrid. Alfonso received them at the airport and after a brief rest the group proceeded to ENTRECULTURAS – an NGO promoted by the Jesuits. It was just amazing to see the way they support education projects among the “excluded” populations of Latin America, Africa and Asia. The group had an interesting interactive session there. After that Chus (Jesus Vizcaino) and Joseph Gomes an Indian alumnus mow doing his Ph.D. in Madrid took them to a Tapas bar for dinner.
The next day Gemma and Sheila both Spanish alumnae joined the group to go to Pueblos Unidos – an organisation that helps immigrants without legal papers to settle down in Spain. This was an eye-opening experience, more so that the Spanish Government supports the organisation. The group then went to see the world renowned Real Madrid Soccer Stadium and had an authentic Spanish lunch. That evening they took a stroll on Plaza Mayor, the city centre, saw interesting sights including the magnificent Royal Palace. The group hosted a typically Spanish dinner for the hosts and went pub hopping and dancing. The gaiety and ambience of Madrid by night was mesmerising.
On Sunday, the group had plans of visiting a village but bad weather prevented them and instead was taken to a flea market for souvenir shopping. After lunch they were taken to the bus station for their trip to Zaragoza. With heavy hearts they bid adieu to their Spanish friends in Madrid.
On arrival in Zaragoza that evening, they were warmly greeted by Rosanna, Fr. Fernando and Isabelle, the President of Zaragoza Alumni Association. The next morning the group were taken around the city, visited a beautiful medieval Cathedral and got a breathtaking bird’s eye view of the entire city from the top of the steeple. The Cathedral boasts of beautiful paintings by Goya. A priest explained the details about how the Cathedral was converted into a mosque and later back to a church.
The next morning the group went to College De Salvador, a Jesuit school founded in 1871. The Director, Mr. Manuel, showed them around the school and the amazing facilities provided for the students. The best thing was the interaction with the Jesuit Fathers in their private chambers. They were mostly very old and retired but were very anxious to know about India and what the Indian Alumni does viz a viz , education and social service. Some of them had lived in India and shared their experiences with the group. After that they spent a delightful evening with Rosanna, Fr. Fernando and others.
On their last day, they were taken to Aljaferia – a national monument of historical and artistic interest that was praised by UNESCO as one of the most representative and emblematic monuments of Aragones Mudejar architecture. After lunch, unusually in a Chinese restaurant the group headed for the bus station for the trip to Barcelona. Parting with friends was getting tougher.
Sheila, Adriana, Irene and others received the group in Barcelona that evening. It was the perfect day to be in Barca as the whole city was in a festive mood for the feast of Merce- the patron of Barcelona. Merce, the President of Barcelona Alumni Association hosted an authentic Catalonian (the region of Barcelona) dinner.
The following day was spent in sight seeing - The famous Gaudi architecture and the church that he started to build a 100 years ago and that is still being built. The greatest experience for the group was a soccer match between FC Barcelona and Real Betis. The stadium, the spectators, the ambience was simply electric. It was an unforgettable experience.
The next day the group visited St.Ignatius School, Serrea, St.Ignatius School, Caspa and Intermon Oxfam. The Serrea School was founded in 1895 and has 3000 students. The Caspa School, in the city has a beautiful chapel as well as a church. There, two things caught the group’s attention - a preserved Bible dating back to 1767 and the original sword that St.Ignatius once used.
That evening an official dinner with Goncal Fabergas, President of the Spanish Alumni Federation – had the group dressed up in their Indian ethnic wear. It was wonderful to know how lives had changed for the Spanish group that had visited India last year and that many more were looking forward to visiting India. It was a lovely time spent together sharing thoughts and experiences with one another.
On the last day in Spain, the group headed to Manressa accompanied by Goncal and Merce. It was a beautiful place and one of the holiest in Barcelona. It was here that St. Ignatius spent his time in meditation and penance after Virgin Mary appeared before him. The place also has a bone from the body of St. Ignatius, carefully placed in a glass enclosure. The group’s next stop was Montserrat - a monastery where the Black Virgin appeared before St. Ignatius.
Later the group went back to their hostel to prepare some “Indian Tapas” for their Spanish friends, namely Toni, Enrique and Sheila. The menu comprised of scrambled and boiled eggs, samosas, sliced cakes, pau bhajee, bhujia and drinks. Although spicy, they all enjoyed it. To make the evening livelier, Debashis showed off his unique style of dancing which surely caught the fancy of Sheila. Some Bollywood oldies were sung and the evening went of well. It was time to bid farewell to the Spanish friends.
The whole journey was an enriching experience with so much to learn and so much to take back home. The Spanish people were very hospitable and made the Indian group feel really at home. For most of them it was a first time meeting but the bonding that happened seemed timeless. Finally on 27th September, the group boarded the flight back home.
Pradeep Guhathakurta,
Group Leader
Thursday, November 20, 2008
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