AFGHANIS BY HEART, THRISSURITES BY SOUL

The Afghan students at St Thomas College. By Faris Arakkal "WE HAVE to roll our tongue twice, even thrice, to articulate a Malayalam word, but we love the language, says Zakir Ahamad, one of the Afghan students of St. Thomas College Thrissur. There are seven students from Afghanistan who are pursuing their education in the city. Now they dwell here in the city weaving dreams like any other Indian student. Around 400 Afghan students passed the test to study in India. The Indian embassy in Kabul chose them under an educational exchange programme. They were allotted to different universities in the country. Of them seven students were sent to Calicut University and they opted to study Bsc computer science at St Thomas College. "We are sometimes celebrities at the college", says Ahmad Mustafa who hopes to be a computer software engineer. When they walk into a class they are surrounded by pals. Never were they treated as strangers because of their culture. When asked about the death of Osama, they said, with a smile on their face, "we just don't care for him". When Afghanistan is portrayed by the media as the saddest and gravest place on earth, they frown at the media. According to them, they live in a peaceful country. They love Indian food and fellow students like Afghan cuisine as well. Dishes like Kabuli pulav and Manto won the hearts of students when a food festival was conducted at the college last year. They remember the long queue in front of their stall. One thing they never will forget, no surprises here, is the Thrissur pooram they saw this year. They were delighted to touch elephants which they don't often come across in their mountainous nation. The fireworks of the pooram reminded of them of the Eid they celebrated in Afghan. They have week-long fireworks and kite flying during the Eid festivals. They have a finite love towards Bollywood. They barge into theatres of Afghanistan to see their favourite Khans. In Thrissur, they often enjoy Hollywood and Hindi films but haven't given a try for the local fare. They love the AR Rahman music. With the living expenses going up, they are struggling to limit their expenses within the monthly scholarship of Rs 7500. Still, they enjoy the luxury of a car and a bike which they managed to own within a year. They wear jeans and shirts to college but their preferred clothing is 'Perhan Thunbaan', the traditional Afghan a kurtha-pajama. They once rocked the campus with their Attan dance performance. It's a year since they - Zakir Ahmad, Abdul Malik, Ahamad Musthafa, Faizan Quraishi, Ahmad Shikeb, Waheedullah and Ghulam Qadar - , reached the city. They love the city, the culture, the people, the traffic but yet they suffer from homesickness. "Entha vishesham", they ask you as a parting shot.