With a Chinese-origin population of 1,000 families, Kolkata’s China Town is a well-known landmark of the city (pop. 4.5 million). The recent tension between India and China over the Arunachal Pradesh border and several other issues notwithstanding, Kolkata’s School of Chinese Language (SCL, estb. July 2008) and its chini adda (Chinese Corner) is going strong and experiencing a rising influx of students. Madan Saraff, principal of the school, believes that Indian students schooled in Mandarin (the national language of the People’s Republic of China), and acquainted with mores of our not entirely popular neighbour nation, will work wonders for Sino-Indian relations.
Newspeg. SCL, which employs faculty from China, was affiliated as a college of the University of Calcutta in January, 2010. More recently, with effect from April, 2011, the school has been appo-inted an agency to recruit students for the Kunming Medical University (KMU, estb.1956), one of China’s top medical institutions offering affordable educa-tion to Indian students, plus a wide range of scholarships and subsidies. KMU, which is approved by the World Health Organisation, Medical Council of India, National Board of Examination and Embassy of India (Beijing), offers its six-year MBBS equivalent study programme for Rs.15.4 lakh with an internship option in China or India.
USP. SCL, which was promoted by Saraff in 2008, is affiliated with Calcutta University, Kunming Medical Univ-ersity, the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies and Shida Fuzhog Kunming. Moreover it’s the first education institute to import three Chinese teachers from Hanban province to impart reliable and authentic Chinese language teaching to students. Curr-ently SCL, which admitted its first batch of 15 students three years ago, has an enrolment of 80 students and over 300 alumni.
History. “In spite of its geographical proximity, China has been an enigma to most Indians. Business took me there in 1978 and that was when the idea of demystifying China through learning Mandarin Chinese originated,” recalls Saraff, an alumnus of Kolkata’s St. Xavier’s College who promoted and managed an international trading firm for 30 years before promoting SCL in 2008.
Direct speech. “According to the partnership agreement signed between SCL and Kunming Medical University, we will offer an initial year of Mandarin Chinese learning in Kolkata before Indian students admitted into KMU proceed to Kunming. SCL is also the first school in India to offer a programme in Chinese language with Calcutta University’s Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies,” says Saraff.
Future plans. SCL intends to evolve into India’s pioneer Mandarin Chinese teaching institute, and has signed up with a number of leading schools in the city to teach Mandarin to their students. With demand for the language growing, Saraff wants to introduce Mandarin in primary school from this year. “Increased interaction between Indian and Chinese students through exchange programmes is necessary for peace and stability in Asia. SCL has taken the initiative to restore the ancient ties of trade and fraternity between India and China in the public interest,” says Saraff.
Wind in your sails!
Baishali Mukherjee (Kolkata)