T[is nast summe], Indian $eeds uisited the nomes 0f tneil tfierds in Paftistan.0uer the GoulsG of a busy weelt $eeds reftindled old fiiendslriru, saw the siglrts of lahore, and surUisingly, found things dont seem so foreign actoss mc [oruGt wwwmp ffi$r+suffi
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hey say that there are some things in life that you
just can't forget. The four days I spent after
I
l
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come here so we can shor,v them our city r,vith the enthusiasm that they possessed
crossing the border at Wagah to Pakistan lvas one of those things. I lvas in a country that is almost ahvays at war, m some lvay or another, i,vith my or,vn. The moment I stepped across the white iine that divided one people into two countries, I felt a surge of energy. The people I was
to be my enemies. yet the in the diplomatic conference room s0 that we need not boil in the sun r,vhile they looking at were supposed Pakistani officer put us up
processed
our passpofis, but all the while
I kept thinking
that
part of the same organization that had killed thousands of my countrymen. It was with such mixed feelings that I began this he
r'vas
of human conviction and passion. There was one vision that I, along with many other people, saw come to reality. We, the Indian and Pakistani Seeds, saw a common dream of seeing everyone together in one place. It rvas a miracle that ended with unforsettable memoriesl In our region, iron gates and barbed r,vires separate our countries. The only direct route betr,veen the countries is
rvelcomed very r,varmly by all the Pakistanis and their families, but more surprisingly, also by
the Delhi-Lahore bus
culture. Hence,
it
ry-
from Bombay to Delhi,
",d
boarded the bus and stopped
"'l*ff on the Indian side of the border (four kilometers away I, from Pakistan), and they walked the rest. They walked
Peace.
They were all immensely happy to see us there. We spoke the same tongue, shared the same history, and, more or less, the same
t'et*
through gates, walked through the no man's land and entered territory they had been told to
became
even easier to talk to each other.
One
of our great
experiences
hate.
the
2001 vs. 2002 Seeds cricket malch. Even after giving Aneeta ties the rakhi, a sacred the 2002 batch a fer,v of our players, in the end 2001 reigned SUPREME. It was barely a few days after the festival of "Raksha Bandhan," (The Bond of Protection) and Aneeta had promised me that she would make me a "rakhi." A rakhi is a sacred thread that the sister ties on the brother's wrist and prays that Go<l will alrvays protect him. It also symbolizes the responsibility of the brother to take care of and protect his sister. So we decided that she would tie the rakhi on my wrist in a traditional ritual. After she tied it, I had to bow and touch her feet and then she had to put a 'tilak' (red mark) on my forehead. I don't think I have ever enjoyed anything as much as the home stay visits in Pakistan. I can,t wait until the pakistanis was
t22@The Olive Branch HWinter 2004
service.
Our Indian friends traveled
Pakistanis who were not of
same
showing Lahore.
n my life, I have hardly seen dreams become a reality, but the ones that I have are not dreams of people r,vanting to fly or touching the sky, but dreams
unbelievable journey. We were
associated r,vith Seeds
in
thread, around Shyam's wrist
It
r,vas
a milestone
and
a victory for us; it hit
us
when we physically saw them
that we finally did
itl At last
lve made a difference.
I
remember
in camp how beautiful life was when we
all
lived together and that same feeling came back during the home stays. It was just perfect. But when those four days ended, we realized how miserable we had become lvithout our friends. Singing weird songs that no one had ever heard of, making up songs that no one could ever understand and playing cricket (the holiest game of the sub-continent!) in a most unruly r,vay. One evening we visited the Badshahi mosque, Hindus and Muslims, Indians and pakistanis. all in one mosque. It was an overwhelming evening. A1l of those times we spent with each, other both at camp and in Lahore, will allvays stay within our hearts and minds.