overwhelming warmth and hos-
pitality. From the general manager
of the Avari Hotel to the salon staff at
the famous Pearl Continental Hotel,
the schools on our itinerary to the
shopkeepers at Anarkali Bazaar in the
walled city, which resembles Delhi’s
Chandni Chowk, and all the people we
met socially, were so excited to learn
that we were from India. Everyone
was welcoming, without exception.
From not wanting to charge me for
a hair wash to genuine reluctance
to accept payment for our meals, I
experienced hospitality at its finest.
I wondered frequently what we, as
nations, were even fighting about.
The lady security guard at the hotel
wanted to know exactly that—she was
also curious about Delhi. I only felt
love, mutual respect and admiration
everywhere I went. Ordinary people
in India and Pakistan are really the
same—they are as wary of their
politicians and crave peace as much
as we do. I realized more than ever
that there is so much love between thereadersdigest.co.in 99AL
AM
Y
people of our two countries—if only
they were not provoked and poisoned
by the powers on both sides.Saying Goodbye
On the morning of our return, some
of the students in our group asked
why they could not stay on. They felt
so loved and pampered that they did
not want to come back. As I said my
goodbyes and walked back across the
border, I remember stopping at the
white line, with one foot in Pakistan
and another in India, wondering how
the two neighbours that were this
close could be so far apart.
As we drove towards Amritsar city
once again, I knew in my heart that
I would go back many more times
to this beautiful land. It felt like a
part of my soul lived there and had
reconnected with me when I stepped
foot in Lahore.
There is some truth in that old
saying, then: “Jis Lahore nahi dekhya
o jamiya hi nahi!” [He who hasn’t
seen Lahore hasn’t been born yet].