Such an emotional journey

It just takes a sentence: “I am planning to visit Pakistan soon.” Instantly, that draws a wave of nostalgia from friends. Quite a natural response that. After all, Pakistan was a part of India some 70 years ago. Pakistanis and Indians are cut from the same cloth. Our soils are parted, not our souls. Sindhi friends in Mumbai tell me about their forebears from Karachi, Hyderabad and Sukkur. Punjabi friends trace their roots to Lahore, Peshawar and Rawalpindi. The stories are poignant and all too real. The emotional holocaust has lasted through the decades.

As they talk about their ancestors, you perceive a spark in their eyes, reflecting the abiding love for their origins. For others, the scars inflicted by the past are painful and would rather be forgotten. If it was easy, perhaps, many Indians would be glad to travel across the border, to see in person the remnants of their past lives. They know the headlines about the Indo-Pak separation but they want to see more and learn more, first-hand. They want to visit the city in which they were born or in which their parents and grandparents were born. They want to know where they came from. They want to relive, and not just re-imagine their moorings.

Countless Indians have relatives in Pakistan with whom they haven’t communicated at all. Many are unsure if their relatives are around and would like to rediscover them, rush towards them for an everlasting embrace this time. Some have the address of their old homes and want a glimpse of it to see who lives there, or if it has been demolished and altered beyond recognition. The trip back to the past can be life-altering, as it has been for me.

A deep human factor is involved despite the differing polity of the two nations. Truly, how does one switch off the venom-spewing news channels and muster up the courage to take the big leap to one’s roots, so close and yet so far? In a vast country like India, the Pakistan high commission has just one office in Delhi. Visa formalities and procedures are difficult, vague and intimidating. Moreover, the threat of terrorism and gangsterism in Pakistan is a major deterrent. There are more impediments than positives but at the end of the day, it boils down to one’s determination and resolve.

Among other reasons, I braved odds to visit Pakistan in 2012, just to be in Lahore, the city where my mother’s side of the family had lived. It can be daunting for an Indian to walk around androon Lahore, unescorted and unguided, but nothing matters when one breathes the same air one’s ancestors had once inhaled.
Pro and no for Salman

It’s been a Salman Khan week in Mumbai. From joy to outrage to indifference, there’s been an outpouring of a gamut of feelings on his quick bail pronouncement. Any which way, the 50-year-old-man-boy’s incredibly huge and loyal fan club stood like a rock behind its super idol. The first ‘unfair verdict’ passed against him by a lower court, was, in fact, trending on Twitter in Pakistan as well. Just goes to show that much like his films, Bollywood’s enfant terrible is a huge cross-border hit, too.

Humaima is India’s desirable, too

The star of the incredibly audacious Bol, Humaima Malick has bagged the 24^th spot in the top 50 list of India’s Most Desirable Women, released by a leading Indian media house. Humaima had no inhibitions about looking sexy in her Bollywood debut, Raja Natwarlal, and planting a kiss on co-star Emraan Hashmi’s lips. In fact, her male counterparts in Pakistan have been prudish in comparison. Little wonder that this hot kitten is sitting pretty in the company of Deepika Padukone, Katrina Kaif, Alia Bhatt and other A-listers. She must be chuffed to know that India finds her just as desirable as her home country.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 14^th,  2015.

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