Mumbai: A team of students and faculty members from IHM Mumbai went for a student cultural exchange programme to Bhubaneshwar last week (9th to 14th of Feb 2020). Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology and Nutrition (IHMCTAN), Bhubaneswar, conducted this programme, under ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’ campaign. Notably, both of these institutes are autonomous bodies under the Union Ministry of Tourism. The paired states of Maharashtra and Odisha have come together to share their cultural diversity and to promote national integration.
The team of 10 students and 2 faculty members from Mumbai were taken on a tour to the local places of tourist-interest, including the very famous Dhauli Shanti Stupa which symbolises the transformation of Emperor Ashoka during the Kalinga War. They were accommodated in the IHMCTAN college premises and treated with traditional Odisha food in course of their stay. The activities included interactive sessions along with a presentation of the in-depth knowledge about the cultural diversity and history of the state of Odisha. The students of IHM Mumbai were also taken on a tour of the college premise where they interacted with the principal, faculty members and the students of the institute. They also visited Kala Bhumi Odisha Craft Museum where they were briefed about the various arts and crafts of the Odisha state. The students were introduced to palm leaf painting called the “Tala Patra Chitra” and were also encouraged to draw on the palm leaves themselves.
Their visits to local places of interest included the famous Lingaraj temple and the Raja Rani temple, both displaying excellent architectural structures of ancient Odisha. They were later familiarized with the history of state at the Odisha State Museum. The Maharashtra team also visited the caves of Udaygiri and Khandgiri, which housed several Jain monks during olden times.
A visit to the famous Jagannath temple at Puri and the Sun temple at Konark marked the penultimate day of their stay in Maharashtra. The students were familiarised with the temple architecture and the history of the place. They were also provided with the opportunity to visit the very famous Chilika Lake, a natural salt water lake.
On the last day of the exchange programme, students from IHM Mumbai worked together with the students from IHM Bhubaneshwar to prepare a traditional and regional Maharashtrian Food, to celebrate the diversity in the cuisines of the two states.
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