Their teachers, a cheerful lot, were no different either While Abhishek Bachchan and Rani Mukherjee found favour with her pupils, English teacher Poletaeva still admires legends like Raj Kapoor and Saadhna.

"The children are eager to celebrate Diwali with fireworks and sweets. They know a lot about the festival and would get to experience it," said Poletaeva.

Marina, another 14-yearold, when asked what she was looking forward to seeing during her visit, said: "We have a big picture of the Taj Mahal in our school in Moscow. It would be great to be there standing next to it."

Ekaterina, 14, president of the school's Indo-Russian Friendship Club cannot wait to see her pen pal in Delhi who she has been writing to for the last three years, while 12-year-old Sasha wants to take back pictures for her younger sister who could not come with her.

"We want to make friends here and practise our Hindi. We want to return with unforgettable impressions of India. Not to forget, we also want to apply henna on our hands," said Ekaterina.