A cross-border friendship morphs from online to offline

Posted by Chintan Girish Modi on Nov 29, 2013

Last year, my Rawalpindi-based journalist friend Shiraz Hassan and I collaborated on an electronic exchange of letters as part of the ‘Conversations’ series facilitated by Aman ki Asha. Over a span of six weeks, we swapped notes about history, literature, music, media, politics, our work and our everyday lives. We concluded the exchange with a wish to meet each other in person someday.
 
“I hope we shall walk together through the streets of Rawalpindi and Lahore, soon,” wrote Shiraz, in one of his letters. Little did we know then that our wish would be fulfilled in a year’s time.
 
I was invited by Idara-e-Taleem-o-Agahi to conduct two writing workshops and to participate in a panel discussion on peace education at the Children’s Literature Festival in Lahore on October 30 and 31. Thankfully, the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi granted me a visa to Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi, thus enabling me to meet Shiraz and other friends whom I’d until then known only through Facebook, Twitter and email.
During my three and a half days in Islamabad, Shiraz and I got in quite some together. With his motorbike, it was easy to travel around and get a zippy feel of Pakistan’s capital city, with its greenery, wide avenues, the hills, and the chill in the air.
 
Shiraz took me to a Diwali celebration at the Pakistan National Council of Arts complex, organized by the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony. Representatives from the local Hindu community gave some speeches but what really stood out were the magnificent rangoli outside the auditorium, the light from the diyas all over, the aarti, the dance performance and best of all, the rendition of mystic poetry that is a shared Southasian heritage: the verses of Bhagat Kabir and Bulleh Shah. It was a beautiful evening that I am glad I had the opportunity to experience.

We visited the Lok Virsa National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage, with its a well-curated museum offering a glimpse of the history, craft traditions, music and lifestyle of various communities around Pakistan.
 
Shiraz also introduced me to some of his friends in Islamabad whom I enjoyed spending time with. They ensured that we went to a restaurant with a good range of vegetarian options, helped me with inter-city flight bookings and cancellations, and dropped me right at the doorstep of my hosts in Islamabad. All that warmth and hospitality was really heartening.
 
Sadly I could not visit Rawalpindi where Shiraz lives since I didn’t have a visa for Islamabad’s twin city. I hope that I can visit Pakistan again in the near future, and see for myself those temples, ruins and monuments that Shiraz photographs.

 
And I hope to continue, with Shiraz, and with Aman ki Asha, the process of bringing together Pakistanis and Indians in the spirit of friendship.

This article was first published by Aman Ki Asha. Read more about Chintan's visit to Pakistan at "It's just like your Ladhakh" and "Rooting kids to culture across borders"

Posted by Chintan Girish Modi on Nov 29, 2013 | permalink


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