PATNA: Patna looks more modern and progressive than what I had expected it to be like! Thus spoke Lydia Barraza, cultural affairs officer in the US embassy in New Delhi, during her first visit to the state on Tuesday.
“Many stories about Bihar changing and modernizing are doing the rounds these days across the world. That’s why we are here — to gather more about the ground realities and explore areas of possible cultural interaction,” Barraza told TOI.
Barraza has “heard a lot about “state chief minister Nitish Kumar who has been helming Bihar’s rapid metamorphosis into a modern state for the last five years. “I learnt from my interaction with NGOs and activist groups that (development and welfare) schemes have been executed in rural areas and panchayats in real terms. There is much to learn from Bihar’s experience,” she said.
According to her, the students of Bihar exude amazing confidence and are very talented and hardworking. The educational institutions have great potential, said Barraza who served in Nigeria before being assigned Delhi ten months ago.
Speaking about the US embassy’s American Corner in Patna that has been working to increase people-to-people interaction, Barraza said there is a plan to bring in expert speakers to the centre to deliver lectures on various topics.
Earlier, while interacting with the students of Indian Institute of Business Management, Barraza spoke at length about the various areas of interaction between India and the US and highlighted issues like trade, business, education, nuclear capability and the strategic dialogue between the two countries. The US society, she said, has adopted many Indian trends and fashion practices like saris and bangles. Bollywood blockbuster ‘3 Idiots’ was a box office hit in the US as well. “While Amir Khan and Rani Mukherjee are my favourite Bollywood stars, ‘Salaam-e-Ishq’ is fave among Hindi movies,” she said.
The students seemed to connect quite fast with the lady, dressed in white top and black trousers, speaking in chaste, flawless Hindi.