EK BHARAT SHRESHTHA BHARAT Student Exchange Programme Report By: Rohan Prakash Lekhwani Indian Institute of Information Technology Pune Introduction: “Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat” was announced by Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 31st October 2015 on birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. The main Objectives of the program are to celebrate Unity in Diversity of our Nation and to maintain and strengthen the fabric of traditionally existing emotional bonds between the people of our country; to promote the spirit of national integration through a deep and structured engagement between all Indian States and Union Territories through a year-long planned engagement between states; to showcase the rich heritage and culture, customs and traditions of either state for enabling people to understand and appreciate the diversity that is India, thus fostering a sense of common identity; to establish long term engagements; and to create an environment which promotes learning between states by sharing best practices and experiences. For the Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat student exchange program our college Indian Institute of Information Technology Pune was paired with Indian Institute of Information Technology Tiruchchirappalli. Under this programme 50 students were sent from our college to IIIT Trichy and 50 students from their campus visited our college. The main motive of organising this programme for us was to understand the culture and tradition of Tamilnadu which is a famous place for temples by visiting different places and interacting with people over there. Day 1 Friday 17th January 2020: At Pune Junction Our EBSB team boarded LTT - Madurai express at 4:00 am on 16th January 2020 from Pune Junction. Day 2 Saturday 18th January 2020: We reached Tiruchchirappalli Junction at 5:30 am and were provided with bus facility to reach IIIT Trichy. We were provided hostel for staying in NIT Trichy Campus as IIIT Trichy having their temporary campus in NIT Trichy. The entire day we took rest and viewed NIT Trichy Campus. MIG and Temple at NIT Trichy Day 3 Sunday 19th January 2020: We started our journey to Rameswaram early in the morning at 5:30 am and reached there by 11:00 am. On the way Pamban Bridge connects Mandapam Town in India with Pamban Island and Rameswaram. It was India’s first sea bridge and was longest sea bridge until the opening of Bandra Worli Sea link. Rameswaram Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to god Shiva and is also one of 12 Jyotirlinga temples. This temple has longest corridor among all Hindu temples in India. After visiting the Rameswaram temple there, we had our lunch and later visited Dhanushkodi. Dhanushkodi is an abandoned town at south eastern tip of Pamban Island. The town was destroyed during 1964 Rameswaram Cyclone and remains uninhabited in the aftermath. We returned to college at 10:30 pm. Pamban Bridge Rameswaram Temple DhanushKodi Day 4 Monday 20th January 2020: The opening ceremony was started at 9:30 followed by speech of Directors of NIT Trichy and IIIT Trichy and a guest lecture for motivation by Prof. Venkatesh before Lunch. After Lunch we enjoyed Tamilnadu’s state dance Bharatanatyam. Bharatanatyam is one of eight forms of dance recognized by Sangeet Natak Akademi which expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas. Day 5 Tuesday 21st January 2020: The cultural programme was started at 10:00 am. On that day we seen the folk dance and music of Tamilnadu before lunch and after lunch we had a guest lecture by Director of IIM, Tiruchirappalli; Dr Bhimraj Maitri and we have listened story of Lord Krishna via music with a musical instrument called Villu Paatu. The dance forms performed include Kargattam, Kavadi Aattam, Mayil Attam, and a Artificial bull dance. Day 6 Wednesday 22nd January 2020: We went to Thanjavur Big Temple, called Brihadeeswara Temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva located in south bank of Kaveri river. It is one of largest south Indian temples and an exemplary example of a fully realized Dravidian architecture. We have then attended a guest lecture in which we were told about the Tamilnadu. Day 7 Thursday 23rd January 2020: We visited Kallanai Dam, which is constructed by Chola king Karikalan across Kaveri River in Tanjavur District. After lunch we have seen Silambam, which is a weapon-based martial art of India. This ancient fighting style is mentioned in Tamil Sangam literature. Weapons used in this are Silambam, Maru, Aruval, Savuku, Vaal, Kuttu Katai, Surul Kaththi and Kattari. Day 8 Friday 24th January 2020: We had a Skype call who told us about Industries in Tiruchirapalli. After lunch we visited Srirangam Temple and Rock Fort. Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to a reclining form of Hindu deity Maha Vishnu located in Srirangam and is constructed in Dravidian Architecture. Thayumanavar Temple is situated in Rock fort complex and was constructed by Pallava King Mahendravarman. Day 9 Saturday 25th January 2020: We visited Lourdes church in Tiruchirappalli and have brought some traditional dresses of Tamilnadu. We boarded train to return to our college at 8:40 pm and reached college on 27th January 2020 at 3 am. Conclusion: We had a good experience on visiting different places in Tamilnadu. We also got enough knowledge about food and tradition of Tamilnadu, people in tamilnadu, and their music and dance culture. Many of such programs should be conducted by government of India so that youth may know about the culture, and reasons behind following it. They will be able to know about all the beliefs that most people follow from our ancestors and may correct them if necessary..