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Mumbai: Twenty school children from the Himalayan state of Jammu and Kashmir state sat on the lawns of the Maharashtra governor's bungalow in Mumbai and watched in awe the huge waves of the Arabian Sea lashing the rocks.
"This is the first time we have seen the sea and we have no words to describe how we are fascinated by its vastness," says 15-year-old Jamur Hussain, a class nine student of of a government school in Rajal village in the Nowhshera region of Jammu.
The children arrived in Mumbai on Wednesday after touring the state of Goa, Belgaum in Karnataka state and Nashik and Pune in Maharashtra state.
"We never imagined all this existed outside our village," he says shaking his head. Their teachers as well as members of the Indian Army, who are accompanying the students, say the youngsters have thoroughly enjoyed the visits to museums, market places, historical sites, the National Defence Academy and the Infosys camp in Pune and the Artillery Museum in Nashik.
Ask the kids and almost all of them say with a big smile that it is Mumbai which has captured their hearts. "Mumbai is the best," says a shy Surkshya Gangwal, 12, an eighth class student from Bajnowa village, which is close to the border of Pakistan. "My parents, my younger brother and sister have never travelled out of our village. I have so much to tell them when I return home," she says.
Hindi film fans
Jamur and Surkshya say how the students were particularly excited to see the tall buildings and the huge shopping malls. "There are so many people everywhere," says Surkshya with a laugh.
Avid fans of Hindi films, Jamur wishes he could meet Shah Rukh Khan. "I have written him a letter but I don't think I'll ever get a chance to meet him," he says with a sigh.
A visit to the Film City is not on their itinerary but they have already seen the Gateway of India, went on a boat ride, walked down Fashion Street and visited the Aquarium.
The children also met Maharashtra Governor S.C. Jamir at the Raj Bhavan, the governor's sprawling and beautiful residence by the sea on Malabar Hill and went on a stroll on Marine Drive. The 10 boys and 10 girls in the 12-15 age group from government schools will return to Jammu today.
"To see the world outside their villages for the first time is an amazing experience for them," says Bikram Jeet, a teacher from Kheri. "Their parents sent them only because they are in the care of the army," he adds.
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