They were recently in Kerala. A bunch of 30 youngsters on a mission to discover India. We are not talking about a group of foreigners, but foreigners with their origins in India. Attending the sixth edition of the Know India? a month long programme organized at the initiative of the Union Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, these youngsters arrived in Kerala, only to experience a totally different India.

For the NRI youngsters, India, their country of origin was something that they didn?t get to know further beyond their parents, who brought them up amidst the culture and traditions of their respective countries, where they work and live. The batch of 30 youngsters, their Kerala leg visit was made possible at the initiative of the Department of Non-resident Keralites? Affairs (NORKA) and the Ministry of Youth Affairs.

At the end of the one-month sojourn in Kerala, Ms. Kavishka Sewnarain, hailing fromSouth Africa had two things that impressed her so much in Kerala; literacy and abundant greenery, so was the case with Ms. Shelley Ashtamkal from Israel, who also admires the Kerala beaches, and is already excited at the prospect of spending some good time in Kerala in the near future.

For Mr. Einath Yonathan from Israel, it the Queen of the Arabian Sea that he looked forward during the visit. In his words, ?I am having fun learning my parents? heritage?. If it was the land?s beauty and understanding of one?s heritage that appealed to some of the members of the young delegation, for Mr. Ashutosh Jha of Canada, it was the people of Kerala that made an everlasting impression on him. And this fact, he vouches from his interaction with none other than the Chief Minister of Kerala, Mr. V. S. Acuthanandan, who according to Mr. Jha was truly a symbol of simplicity. ?People out here have kind words and a wide smile,? says Mr. Jha. The Chief Minister was again the highlight of experience for Ms. Andrea Bullock from Trinidad & Tobago, who recalls enjoying her talk with him and in the process found him to be a person very forthcoming in his answers.

Before their departure, the bunch of 30, comprising students and professionals made use of the opportunities they got in Kerala to get a fairly good understanding of the land, people, culture and traditions of Kerala. And in helping them to understand these were the programmes, which helped them to experience life in a village, home stays, interactions with local people, cultural performances, rural sports and boat race that took these youngsters close to the heart and matter of Kerala and its people.

The purpose of the whole exercise ?Know India?, which has now become a regular feature is to make people of Indian origin, settled in foreign lands to understand the culture of their roots and also the potential of India.