India, July 5 -- After a four-and-a-half-year tenure in Chandigarh as the British deputy high commissioner, Caroline Rowett, heads to the foreign office in London. A career diplomat with over 30 years' experience, she has represented the UK in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Chandigarh since February 2021. In an interaction with Hindustan Times, she shared her experiences that highlight the living bridge between the two nations with a shared history. Edited excerpts: This is a great opportunity to reflect. I arrived after the first Covid wave and spent the first two weeks in quarantine. Soon, we were in lockdown again as the second wave had hit. However, the high point after that was India's 75th anniversary. Then sadly, we had the passing of Her Majesty the Queen. The coronation of King Charles III, which obviously was a joyful occasion, but it was tinged with sadness. We had elections in both countries and our growing partnership reflects the living bridge. As for the region, we held a reception in Dharamshala on the fusion of cultures between the UK and Himachal Pradesh. It strengthened ties between the state and the UK. Another highlight was the book I put together to celebrate India's 75th birthday by featuring 75 women with their biography in 75 words. Some of them are based inPunjab, and some in the UK. We've now got a centre of excellence with Haryana on post-harvest cold chain management. We've broken ground in Panchkula. That will be a place where Haryana farmers can come to gain British expertise on how to get their crops from the field to the supermarket in good condition. There's a spice company up in Himachal that I went to see them three years ago. They were a small family business putting spices together literally in their garage. They've now got a British company investing in them and are about to start building a factory on 1,000 acres in Manali. We've got a Scottish whisky company opening a distillery in Himachal. They're in their second year of distillation now. It takes three years to do the whole process. In a year, they'll have the first Indian proper single malt whisky. I read an article on the BBC about a girls' cricket team at Dharokhi village, an hour's drive from Patiala. A local policeman has given part of his farmland to the village girls so they can play cricket. I went there three years ago and it was inspirational. I revisited them recently and found some of them aiming for the Punjab Under-16 girls' team. We managed to get a company in Ludhiana to sponsor their sportswear. Small things like that are as much a highlight as signing the Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which is hugely important for the relationship between the two countries. But it's things at the grassroots as well, which are important. We're looking at increasing trade annually by over£25 billion. It's the best deal India has ever struck with a partner. It's undergoing a legal scrub now. Though it'll take a year to implement, companies will be going through it. Of particular interest perhaps for this region will be things like the tariffs on whisky dropping. Whisky is popular here, so that should be good news. It's interesting that the FTA has mentioned textiles. We have phulkari in Punjab and amazing shawls up in Himachal. And then possibly agri-tech as well. In February, we launched the 'Visa Fraud Ton Bacho' campaign to raise awareness about common visa scam tactics and promote safe and legal routes for those seeking to travel to the UK. We launched it in Jalandhar with the support of both the governor and the chief minister of Punjab. We welcome people to come legally to the UK, but we don't think people should be put in danger because they have travelled illegally. Whether it's the UK or any other country, illegal immigrants can't earn a proper wage, they're kept in poor conditions, and are taken advantage of. It's human trafficking, and that's unacceptable. We've got a WhatsApp chatbot, there's social media, billboards and posters, mostly around Jalandhar, because that's one of the areas where you see aircraft (water tanks) on people's roofs. That's been quite successful, as we've engaged with village heads. India still tops the list for visas granted, for visit, students and skilled workers. Indian nationals received over 5.46 lakh UK visit visas, which accounts for 25% of all UK visit visas issued globally between April 1, 2024 and March 31, 2025. The UK has been a welcoming country for skilled workers and students. Indian nationals received over 95,000 sponsored study visits, which is the second largest group of international students and accounts for 23% of the total sponsored study visit grant during the same period. Indian nationals received over 23,000 skilled worker visas. I wish I could say tomorrow. I've been very keen on that. Chandigarh airport has been in contact with British Airways about it. I take inspiration from the fact that Indigo launched its Manchester-Mumbai flights this week. I'm hoping that will encourage Indigo to look at other destinations, both in India and the UK. Both British Airways and Virgin have flight shares now with Air India and Indigo, so you can book a flight from Chandigarh to London and vice-versa. You have to change in Delhi, but at least it's a connecting flight now. That's a step forward. We need another step now. That's the living bridge. I've been to Mussoorie, Dehradun, Dharamshala, Shimla, Kasauli, Ambala and Ferozepur, exploring British links. I discovered Waste Warriors (a non-profit solid waste management NGO) in Dehradun. I reached out to the British woman, who founded it in Dharamshala. I met (author) Ruskin Bond at Landour. There's so much history in Shimla, you can't escape it. In Dharamshala, there's a small community of Brits and I visited Andretta village. Ambala has Commonwealth war and Jewish graves. The first British Sikh historian, Captain JD Cunningham, is buried there. Impressive. It's fascinating what you can discover. A delegation, led by then UT adviser Dharam Pal, went from Chandigarh to Milton Keynes and a team from the UK town visited Chandigarh. Both of them were surprised at the similarities between the cities. They're both purpose-built, have straight roads and roundabouts. Milton Keynes has satellite villages and you've got the tricity. There are similar challenges in that you've got a far bigger population than you were expecting, and people need to get to the centre to get to work and the current public transportation systems aren't working. So, what do you do? One difference is that in Chandigarh, people rely on their own cars more than on public transport, whereas in the UK we're used to public transport. Both cities are grappling with similar issues: How do you create a transportation system that meets the needs of the population in a sustainable way and offers last-mile connectivity and safety for women. Both visits were successful and we have a draft knowledge exchangepartnership, awaiting approval. (Laughs) Well, sadly no. I normally speak the language of wherever I am, but I've not picked up Punjabi. I know few Hindi phrases, but my accent is terrible. I like Punjabi food though. My go-to food on a Friday night after a long week is dal makhni and hot garlic naan. My favourite breakfast has to be Amritsari chole-bhature. And yes, I can now make rajma that even my husband likes. So that's a cherished recipe, which I'm going to take back to the UK. I'll be taking a part of Chandigarh back with me, too. My two street dogs, Shimla and Sula, are getting ready to go home to the UK with me. Everyone says, oh, we got a dog for Covid. Well, yeah, I got two. They'll be a permanent reminder of Chandigarh. Gosh! I'm getting emotional. I'd thank everyone for making me so welcome. Chandigarh means City Beautiful. Live up to your name. Chandigarh was created as a template for the future of India. Continue to be on the cutting edge of change, just be that inspiration for the rest of the country....