Attari: The novel concept of promoting friendship through food at 'Sarhad', a restaurant serving the best of cuisines from both sides of Punjab, has attracted attention of Harvard Business School. 'Sarhad', which promotes cultural and culinary heritage of pre-partition Punjab, was picked up as a mini project for Digital Marketing Strategy by Harvard's MBA class of 2013.
The restaurant is situated exactly between Amritsar and Lahore and is 1.5 km from the Indo-Pak border at Attari. As part of their elective course, the HBS students are required to work with a Small Medium Enterprise to help it grow through a well-defined digital marketing strategy.
In a communication to 'Sarhad', Nidhi Shem, Harvard School's project co-ordinator said, "Harvard had been screening business models of interest and came across your venture. We found it quite impressive and intriguing, given the social impact/awareness it is trying to create as a for-profit entity."
"It is an honour for Sarhad to be selected by Harvard. It will be good not only for business but, more importantly, for our mission of promoting Indo-Pak peace through food and culture," says owner Aman Jaspal. A small team of HBS students would also make a site visit to 'Sarhad' and spend a few days.
'Sarhad' boasts of north India's biggest live kitchen built to five-star standards and amenities. "Amritsar and Lahore share a great culinary tradition and food is the primary love of all Punjabis," Jaspal said.
The visitor's attention is immediately grabbed by two brightly painted trucks parked outdoors. Haider Ali, Pakistan's most celebrated truck artist, has transformed a Tata Magic mini van and Tata Ace mini truck into colourful Pakistani truck art with motifs of Punjabi culture and Indo-Pak peace.
'Sarhad''s unique offering is its range of Lahori and Amritsari cuisine. According to Jaspal there is a great enthusiasm in Pakistan for the project, particularly among the youth. Jaspal, who is an MSc in Economics from Norway, says that greater contacts between the youth of India and Pakistan is a sure way to bring peace.
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