10/09/2026
🇮🇳 A Meeting, A Vision, and a Dream for Lucknow
India is changing.
India is moving forward.
And the story of this progress is no longer limited to a few metropolitan cities.
There was a time when the identity of a city was defined by its monuments, markets and history. Today, a city is also defined by the ideas it creates, the opportunities it attracts and the future it dares to imagine.
I witnessed a glimpse of this changing India in Pune.
During the Printing & Packaging Exhibition / BOBST Open House 2026 in Pune, I had the privilege of meeting and interacting with Jean-Pascal Bobst, CEO of BOBST Group, one of the world's leading names in printing, packaging and converting technology.
BOBST, a Swiss-origin global company, has built a remarkable reputation in advanced technologies and solutions for the printing and packaging industry, with expertise spanning Flexible Packaging, Labels, Corrugated Board and Folding Carton.
But for me, the most valuable part of that meeting was not the machines or the technology.
It was the vision behind them.
The world is looking towards India.
Leading international companies are expanding their presence in India, exploring its enormous market, bringing advanced technologies and becoming part of the country's remarkable growth story.
India today is not merely a market.
India is becoming a destination for innovation, investment, technology and new possibilities.
And when the world is looking towards India, why should our dreams remain small?
My vision is also connected with this changing India.
I want to create something new.
Something where progress walks alongside culture, technology walks alongside civility, and business walks alongside responsibility.
And I want to explore that possibility not somewhere far away, but in Lucknow—the capital of Uttar Pradesh, India's largest state.
Lucknow is not just a city.
It is a land of tehzeeb, adab, grace and human relationships.
It carries a culture where success has never meant losing one's manners, and modernity has never required abandoning one's roots.
That is the spirit I want to carry forward.
My aspiration is to build something in Lucknow that embraces modern technology, creates new opportunities, encourages innovation and contributes, in its own modest way, to the economic growth of Uttar Pradesh and India.
The meeting with Jean-Pascal Bobst in Pune strengthened this thought.
Because sometimes, a meeting is not merely a meeting.
It leaves behind an idea.
An idea, when it finds a place in the heart, becomes a dream.
A dream demands hard work.
And hard work, one day, has the power to turn a dream into reality.
Today, it may be only an idea.
Tomorrow, it may become a beginning.
And perhaps, with time, that beginning may grow into something meaningful.
Through Ambar Group, my endeavour is to explore new possibilities in Lucknow—possibilities that connect with the changing needs of modern India, the growing potential of Uttar Pradesh and the opportunities emerging from technology and global collaboration.
I do not believe in making grand announcements before the work begins.
When the work is done, it will speak for itself.
My dream is simple, yet ambitious:
That someday, when someone asks,
“What new thing has happened in Lucknow?”
the answer should not be limited to a building, a project or a business name.
Instead, it should be possible to say—
A new idea was born here.
An idea that believed in India's progress.
An idea rooted in Lucknow's timeless tehzeeb.
An idea that looked towards the future.
And an idea that tried to leave something better for the generations to come.
🇮🇳 India is rising.
Uttar Pradesh is rising.
Lucknow is ready for a new chapter.
And the endeavour will be to ensure that Ambar Group becomes a small but meaningful part of that journey.
Wafa Abbas
