Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Forging an Alliance
|
Meet Dr. Mathieu Guerin, the new director of Alliance Française of Hyderabad
|
Photo: Mohd. Yousuf
HIS SALT-and-pepper hair had made him look quite old when he was 15. At 35, however, he looks pretty young and pretty French."I have this feeling that everything is just starting," says the Dr. Mathieu Guerin, former teacher, ex-AFP-journalist, historian and fencing expert who also happens to be the new director of Alliance Française of Hyderabad. "Naturally I am enthusiastic about my new job. It is unlike everything else I've done before."
Prior to his current assignment, Dr. Guerin was doing post-doctoral research in Cambodian history. Passionate as he is, it didn't take much time for Dr. Guerin to get married to his work, and his love Lakhena, a native Cambodian who happened to be his student.
Among several life skills the Highlands equipped the Frenchman (who has been in the thick of things, seen a lot of strife and internecine killings) with, is the vital skill to handle mosquitoes - a technique that is coming handy in Hyderabad. About his first impressions of Hyderabad, he states, "I am yet to discover the place, but people here are quite warm and friendly, - an inference I draw from my fortnight-long experience. The other day, I had been to Tank Bund to witness the Ganesh immersion, it was spectacular the way people were dancing in high spirits. It was so infectious I nearly joined in."
Even as Dr. Guerin is yet to settle down, work is on in all earnestness. An idea to design a clear project for the Alliance Française of Hyderabad for the next four years (Dr. Guerin's designated-stint) has already been sent to the executive committee, for approval.
Clear-cut
"I am here to respond to the demands and services Hyderabad wants from France," he seems quite clear about his purpose.
Dr. Guerin wants to start off with a corporate reach-out programme, where the Alliance Française trains people in Frenchto enable them to do business with France and French-speaking countries. "One should remember we are not just a language-training institute. Alliance Française will hold exhibitions and cultural events periodically, for the benefit of artists, send the talented and interested to France for exchange programmes so that there is more participation and awareness." Plans to promote France as an educational destination are also in the pipeline even as the director expresses keen desire to encourage scientific links between Indiaand France.
"Hyderabad is in the middle of a big expansion and it is fascinating, although challenging, to work in this situation. The Alliance Française will not be just a silent spectator but further the expansion of Hyderabad as a world-class place. In four years, I shall work and make Alliance the gateway to France," says Dr. Guerin, adding, "unless the sky falls on my head." Perhaps, at six feet, four inches, such a possibility is more, but Dr. Mathieu Guerin is no `French fry'.
SOUVIK CHOWDHURY
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
|
