Tuesday, November 1, 2011

A boat ride with a Pakistani


On a trip outside the country, you meet different kinds of people from different countries..but most of all you meet Indians, from back home. On one such trip, we were in a boat. Several other tourists had also come along, amongst them three couples were from Delhi, a Russian couple, a rather large family from China, a small family of three that I couldn't identify apart from our own. Through the trip of of about an hour, the Delhiites screamed, broke every rule in the book, the Chinese talked nineteen to dozen, the Russians appeared offended about everything in general, while I watched everyone. Its strange how you can place people, their backgrounds, their likes, dislikes, their moods, a bit about their ethnicity, some bit about their nature if you observe them for a while. It was the small family which caught my attention the most, because I couldn't really slot them. Very Aryan looking, the wife in a demure Salwar Kameez, constantly smiling, shy yet seemingly fun, a very well behaved child & a seemingly caring husband. They broke no rules, had their fun and kept to themselves. They spoke in what sounded like a strange mix of Urdu..I wondered idly if they were Kashmiris. About 45 mins into the journey, the wife suddenly turned to me and asked, "Where are you from?" I identified myself as an Indian. She made a silent 'Oh' and pointed at the Delhi-ites and said, we knew they were Indian but got confused about you'll. I asked her in return, "From where are you?" She smiled and said, "From Pakistan". I said to myself, 'no wonder they look so familiar, like a long forgotten fragrance'..For a woman who had hardly spoken through the hour, her parting words made me smile. As she left the boat she said, "kabhi ayiyega, itne bhi alag nahin hain hum"( come visit us sometime, we aren't all that different)



( Image courtesy Google)

22 comments:

shvetilak said...

hmmm the touching words inspired u to share ur experience :)

Indian Citizen Ranting said...

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Nikita Vhora (Nequesta) said...

The title itself instantly makes you click on the post and read it! :) Your story just showed the other brighter, more positive side of the coin! :)

Rahul Bhatia said...

A post so easy to relate to!The last words say it all...

Raj said...

A Long forgotten fragrance indeed! Very sweet parting words. :) Beautiful post.

Anupam Singh said...

"Sweet" is a word i sparingly use for anything other than those delicious eatables. For the first time though, i'm making an exception.
Yes! It was a SWEET article. The taste of which will last long & across the border.

Likhte rahiye Maitreyee. Mitthaas failaatey rahiye!

GeetS said...

interesting :)

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Neeraj Kumar said...

heart-touching post!

Maitreyee Bhattacharjee Chowdhury said...

Thanks folks..yes we aren't really all that different..are we?

Maitreyee Bhattacharjee Chowdhury said...

Thanks folks..yes we aren't really all that different..are we?

aame said...

Very touching ! Thanks for sharing this..there's actually so much more at the common man's level than is apparent in news headlines !

Nevin said...

brilliantly said.

Puru@ShadowsGalore said...

Can't exactly place it, but the last lines of your post touched a chord with me, wish it would have been a little longer :)

Looking forward for more ..

Agnija said...

If only we would all see the truth and beauty of those words. How much happier we would all be! Very nice post.

Pooja Mahimkar said...

that quite an experience... somehow pakistanis and indians are not that different. its just that few things went wrong and now its just growing

Unknown said...

It's a silent reality that not every human being is different. We may differ in culture or creed, but the heart within is still the same. I've a lot of Pakistani friends, and friends from other countries as well who studied with me in Kuwait. It was a great experience to get mixed with everyone's culture and live as 'one united world' rather than as 'an individual of a particular country'.

DPS Bose said...

good attemt
DPSC Bose http://dpscboseart.blogspot.com

Sunil Deepak said...

If only hearts are not afraid of being tricked and can overcome old wounds ..

Prasad said...

Touching parting words. After all anywhere outside, we somehow are always close to our neighbours .

-Prasad
www.prasadgovenkar.com

deepraj jha said...

i would never try to show that i am indian..i may loose few frnds...coz i want to be a world citizen...:)

aativas said...

Very true. we are not that different!!

Rajendra Raikwar said...

awsome