Paki Hugging!

[Portuguese Man-Of-War]

//From the TOI dated 25th March



There are very few countries in the world where an Indian is made to feel special. Strangely enough, Pakistan, the country that has fought four wars with India, is one of them.



In the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, the expatriate pastures that the middle-class Indian seeks out so assiduously, the welcome mat rolled out is only too often woven with the nettle of snobbery. Despite India's dominance of cyberdom, despite the growing network of NRI millionaires, despite the star-studded desi presence on the global marquee, Indians remain inescapably brown.



Even those Indians who venture across the border bristling with patriotism, are forced to concede that despite the political hostility between the two countries, the hospitality extended by the average Pakistani is overwhelming.



By now the story of Pakistani taxi-drivers not accepting money has become the stuff of an e-mail forward doing the rounds on the net, but unlike most FWDs, this one is true.





When you say you're Indian, strange things happen. Faces break into smiles, doors fly open, rickshaw drivers ask you home, cyber cafes waive away hours of use, tea is called for, Pepsi bottles are uncorked, invitations to lunch and dinner are proffered.





Security guards at stadia apologise for checking your bag, the official at the home office asks about Madhuri even as he regrets that permission to the Khyber Pass cannot be granted.



In Peshawar, the territory of the Pathan, a tribe famed for being 'mehman nawaz', the owner of a gun shop allows the Indian tourist to pose with rifles and shotguns and photographs her in the process, but doesn't allow the Australian to come anywhere near.



Indians are treated here like the dollar-wielding American is treated in most countries - you are the 'mehman from the padosi muluk'.



The refrain one hears repeatedly is that the inter-country aggression is because of politicians, the military and extremist elements on both sides, and the people want bridges not borders.



Almost every Pakistani has relatives in India and wants to visit. Perhaps there is a naivete to this goodwill, and undoubtedly if one scratches the surface and embarks on a debate on Kashmir, terrorism and Kargil, positions will harden and sparks will fly. The ghosts of Partition cannot be laid so easily to rest.



Perhaps it has to do with the fact that India is the big brother whose political clout, economic might and cultural exports have swamped Pakistan, fostering an obsessive interest in everything Indian, especially the film stars, Hindi soundtracks and TV soap operas.



Bollywood, 'Tondoolkar' and 'Gangooly' have created more goodwill than multiple rounds of Track 2 diplomacy. If cricket continues to serve as an honest peace-broker and leads to a return series, the same courtesies can be extended to visiting Pakistanis in India.

[azazel]

YAY

but, if we start invitin pakis home.. CBI will be knockin on doors shoutin ISI!!

that apart.. a return series wiu b welcome n so will b the paki team n citizens of our padosi mulk