Feature

Saesm 2008…Great Fun, Great Memories

Samia T Ahmed

IT was the evening of 12th March and we were at the edge of our seats. As they announced the name of the recipient of the Budding Economist Award, the Bangladesh team screamed out in jhoy. I, for one, probably never screamed like that before. We felt elated beyond words, as Biplab Dutta from our team was declared the winner. Bangladesh bagged two more awards and the ceremony "South Asian Economics Students Meet (SAESM)" ended on the 5th in Delhi.

The SAESM is a conference of students of Economics at the undergraduate level held in countries in South Asia. This year Ramjas College and Miranda House of the University of Delhi hosted the program, and students from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Srilanka took part in the various events of the meet. SAESM is a wonderful platform for students to mature into economists and attain a level of perfection, which mere textbooks cannot do.

Nine students from University of Dhaka and three from North South University took part in this year's SAESM from 10-12th March 2008. I left Dhaka airport with my team-mates- Fahim Hassan, Shah Imran, Umama Anzalin, Mahjuja Taznin, Sangeeta Nath, Biplab Dutta, Deen Islam, Ishraq Osman, Mezbah Uddin, Sarwat Jahan and Noor-e-Zannat. Qamrun Taslim and Rushad Faridi took responsibility of us as faculty members. Some of us had paper presentations, for which we had been working since November. Other events at SAESM were the quiz competition, panel discussion, rapporteurship competition, and the Budding Economist challenge. With these activities, the three days of the conference were spent engrossing in doses of intellectual practices in economics. It was competitive, of course, and we now know the level of high standards that must be met in all aspects of our work. It was fun, but it was more of a great learning experience for all of us. There were interactive sessions with people from The World Bank, ILO, and ICICI Bank on various economical issues plaguing Asian nations.

I remember the support from the organizers we received round the clock. The students from the two colleges met us at the airport and throughout the conference days took care of us, listened to all our complaints, however petty they may have been. We got along great with all of them, and we appreciate how they were on their feet 24/7 making sure we were comfortable. SAESM is another platform to make new friends and grow together as economists. I loved hanging out with the Srilankan girls or the team from Mumbai, and there were many who have kept in touch via facebook after we returned. It was amazing singing along with everyone on stage at the closing ceremony. I had much fun in India, hence I know why my heart still wishes to be back there, and those days were disconnected to the drab realities we all face here. The moments felt unreal; the excitement still comes back in my dreams.

I can never forget the team effort we put up in each of our performances. The night before our presentations we sat down to practice and fix the nitty-gritty details of the PowerPoint slides. We were definitely lucky to have each other. As I said, we bonded within the team, as not all of us are from the same batch. I fondly remember the walk around Karol Bagh, exploring eateries together, and even playing a game our teacher Rushad sir taught us.

There was a retreat planned for the delegates in Jaipur and Agra. We were taken to see the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, Fatehpur Sikri, and Amber Fort; we immersed ourselves in the grandeur of Mughal architecture. The beauty of the structures made us stand in awe! Walking around the Pink City in Jaipur was fun, shopping all around the busy roads, bargaining to purchase the Rajasthani dolls. Chawkidani resort was a place we were taken on our last day of the retreat. It is a model Rajasthani village with traditional dances, food, elephant and camel rides. I rode on a camel and this was not as scary as it looked at the beginning. The whole experience at this place was enjoyable.

Being back at Dhaka we are back in our daily lives we had left behind. I miss India, especially Delhi, with the flyovers at every intersection, cows crossing the roads along with cars, the giant Hanuman statue, and the radio station named Hit Radio 95 FM. The journey was worth all the trouble we went through since November; we made friends and discovered ourselves. All this happened for the respect of the subject we study, Economics.

(DU, Dept of Economics)