Win-Win Match

Ask Amit Aggarwal. It was a cold month in January 2005,when he first crossed the Wagah border to watch a One Day International match between India and Pakistan in

Lahore. “We went as part of the Punjab and Haryana High Court delegation and were apprehensive about what to expect on the other side,” recalled Agga

rwal. But the moment the delegation crossed the border,they were greeted with warmth. India won the match,but that did not change the Pakistani people’s attitude. “We hardly paid for anything. Shopkeepers and restaurant managers didn’t charge us anything,” added Aggarwal,who stayed with Chaudhry Sawad,a well-known lawyer from Lahore.

Since then he has been biding his time at his residence in Sector 11 to return that favour to his friends. “Sawad’s brother,Faisal,will arrive any minute with his friends and my mother has been preparing a traditional Indian welcome for them,” he said. The outcome of the match doesn’t worry him,as he believes a game should be taken with a sportsman’s spirit.

He isn’t alone. Reeta Kohli,additional advocate general,Punjab,is hosting a couple of guests from across the border at her home in Sector 39. A smiling Kohli was dressed and ready to distribute Indo-Pak flags to fans. “As a peace lover,some of us have surrendered our tickets so that our friends from Pakistan can enjoy the match,” she added.

Pramod Sharma,coordinator of Yuvsatta,an NGO,would agree. He hosts a delegation of nine Pakistani friends. Sharma took the group to the stadium,where they distributed 20,000 mini flags of India and Pakistan bound together. “We welcomed them with a cracker-bursting session and will serve them Indian delicacies,” he said. His guests are only too happy. “It is like a homecoming,” said Aisha Aarif,a filmmaker from Lahore.

These sentiments have gone viral,like loose electrical wires igniting uncontrollable sparks. Something Deep Saeeda,a peace activist from Lahore,would agree with. She was booked to stay in a Chandigarh hotel,but a surprise call from her friend Kawaljit Kaur Dhillon,professor of Punjabi at Government Post Graduate College,Sector 11,made her change her plans. “Dhillon is in Canada,but she insisted we stay at her house in Sector 7,which has been opened and cleaned for us,” said a moved Saeeda,looking at the welcoming decorations around her.

Some have opened their homes even to strangers. Like Vipin Yadav,director of Wow Marketing,an event management firm. “It’s a moment of pride to be associated with our Pakistani brothers and sisters,” said Yadav,who has arranged for a Punjabi special evening for his friends.

The Talwar family of Sector 15 is sparing no effort either. Their breakfast table was laden with stuffed paranthas,special paneer,lassi and exotic Indian sweets,to welcome their four Pakistani guests from

Lahore yesterday. “What a welcome; we have no words to describe how we feel,” said Ayaz Akbar,a television sports journalist. Akbar described the match as a movement — a step ahead towards peace,building bridges and connecting to each other. Harjinder Singh Talwar isn’t new to these friendships. The last time there was an Indo-Pak match,he had hosted families with whom he never lost touch and went to see them in Pakistan with his wife,despite visa hassles. “A baggi,led by horses,came to receive us with a bhangra team dancing all the way to their home. Rose petals were showered on us. For as many as six days,50 to 60 people had dinner at their place,for they wanted to ‘see’ the ‘gracious Indians’,” reminisced

Talwar fondly. Inspired by Pakistani hospitality,Talwar was busy making sightseeing arrangements for his four guests yesterday,while his wife planned the menu. Truly win-win.