In February, a slam poet from Delhi, Shivani Gupta, penned a message to a stranger in Pakistan, titled Dear Girl From Pakistan. Now, a girl from Pakistan Fatima Khan, has written a beautiful response to the girl from India.
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Titled Dear Girl From India, Khan starts off her poem with "Salam, Namaste, and Sasrikal.
"Hearts are never separated by borders. Come, let's create a vision much broader."
In response to Gupta's apology for waiting "69 long years" to reach out, Khan says, "You do not need to be sorry for sins not yours."
Just like Gupta explored the commonalities between two girls separated by a border, Khan points out more similarities between the two in hopes of creating a 'broader' picture -- one of a shared sense of humanity, despite the ongoing political animosity.
"And yes, I'm a girl -- a human just like you, whose heart dances when her mother kisses her goodnight... whose favourite movie is the one with a happy ending, who is scared of hatred still pending."
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However, Fatima isn't the only one from Pakistan who responded to Gupta's moving poem. The Delhi Poetry Slam Facebook page that originally posted Gupta's video has received multiple responses from Pakistanis with their own touching poems.
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Gupta’s emotionally charged and thought provoking lyrics explored the volatile relationship between arch rivals, Pakistan and India.
Here's her poem, Dear Girl From Pakistan:
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