Chandigarh girls get a French connection

CHANDIGARH: All of 21, Chandigarh girl Shina Kapur is all set to travel to France and teach students there some English and good-old Indian traditions.
Shina will be part of a group of seven girls who have been selected for the French government's language assistant programme 'D'anglais', or "Teach English in France".
Under the programme, the volunteers will teach English to French students (aged 6-18) and also sensitize them about Indian culture.
The girls will wear traditional Indian dresses (like salwaar-suits and sarees) in France. "I always wanted to be a bilingual teacher. I am enthusiastic about promoting Indian culture among French students. Through photographs, I am going to introduce them to Indian festivals, lifestyle and even Le Corbusier's architectural monuments in Chandigarh," says Shina. "I will prepare rajma-chawal to make them familiar with Punjabi flavours. For Indian mythology, I'll use plays," she adds.
The group of seven will stay there for seven months, work for 12 hours each week, and will be given a chance to renew the programme. They will also be paid 964 euros (including taxes) a month, and will even have an option to stay with a French family. "Going to France for an assistant programme is the best thing that could have happened to me to enrich myself with French culture, and vice-versa,"" adds Mehak Bhalla, a 29-year-old volunteer.
French embassy awards 12 Indians
Alliance Francaise de Chandigarh has awarded scholarships to 12 Indian students under the French embassy's 'Charpak' programme. The scholarships have been announced for master's degree, exchange semesters, and research internship.
Divjot Singh Jolly, one of the scholarship recipients, called it "a great opportunity". "I did my BTech (nuclear engineering) from SRM University, Chennai. I wanted to do my masters in the same stream. Based on my academics, I have got a scholarship of 10,000 euros, and visa and travel favours," he said.
Chandigarh College of Architecture student Uttkarsh Singh has been awarded an internship and will be paid 508 euros a month. "I am in the fourth year of architecture. I will also get 50% off on the fair of metro trains," he said.