For students from the region, it was a time to compare and concede the similarities and differences. "When we were coming here, people told us not to expect too much as Delhi is a lot like Pakistan. It is similar, yet different. The crowds are like those in Lahore, but the roads are wider. When we were driving from the airport, we kept identifying areas that resemble Lahore or Islamabad," said Shah, a student of Lahore University of Management Sciences. Shah and Shahid both say they are bowled over by the hospitality "I can easily say Delhiites are more hospitable.
They have been very warm and are not hypocritical," felt Shahid. For Shah, however: the eye to personal detail and not just logistics is more im10pressive.

"We are Muslims and have to observe rozas (fasts during the Holy month of Ramzan) and had not really expected people here to make arrangements. But they have ensured that we do not face any problem," said Shah. For others like Jithmal Saman Kantha, an Economics student from Sri Lanka's Colombo University, it is an opportunity to meet friends he made in a similar event in Sri Lanka last year "We had the South Asian Economics Students' Meet in Colombo last year One of the participants from India, Harsh, be- came a good friend. It is really nice to meet him again," said Kantha. Kantha feels events like these allow students from the region to develop an understanding about their neighbours. Or as Shahid says, understand what the other is trying to say. "It is good to have an event for students from SAARC countries because that means we have some kind of a breathing space, added Shahid.