Meeting Point

Lend an ear,strike a conversation,discover something new and say it with a smile. The evening was warm and cosy,despite the November chill,as the French Conversation Group got together to connect,without an agenda. “We’re a group of like-minded people,who have learnt French and get together to speak the language,to be in touch with it,improve our vocabulary and diction,’’ smiles Seema Bhalla,who hosted a beautiful evening and a sumptuous spread on Sunday. The idea,shares Seema,is to invite people from different nationalities here in the city to come together,share their experiences,talk about their countries,get to know our culture and way of life. “It’s a cultural exchange,with a personal touch,’’ Seema,dressed in Rajasthan parallels,spoke about Rajasthan,its repertoire of art,culture,music and also how the colour indigo created a rage in 17th century in France. Flores Christian,the new director of Alliance Francaise talked passionately about his home town. Christian sees his new role as director of Alliance is both absorbing and challenging,“I’ve worked in South Africa and Spain and India was an assignment I was really looking forward to and my tenure here will really help me get fluent with my English,’’ Flores feels the Alliance here has a wonderful mix of both academics and culture and hope to take it a step further. “We have some interesting concerts,exhibitions and films planned for the next month,including the illumination of the Eiffel Tower in Sector 10,and being a part of this group was a great start to my stay,’’ smiles Flores.

“It’s a fine way to learn new facets about other counties,the intricacies of the language,’’ shares Ashwini Sabharwal,a regular member,who brushes up his French regularly,gets to meet new people and connect to old times too. Though not French literate,Paksima,here from Iran to study sociology loved every moment of the informal do,“you find new ways to look at the city,its people and find friends.’’ To more…