‘Jodhpur se Pakistan jaane wali gaadi platform ek se rawana ho rahi hai’

In the adjoining compartment, 19-year-old Indira, a Hindu from Ahmedabad, hugged her mother in delight and yelled to her relatives outside: “Pakistan bhi Zindabad”.

Separated by two generations of animosity and an equal number of wars, the two were not the only ones to be swept away by the wave of emotion as the train made its first journey across the border.

Thousands of people, many of them from far away places in western India, cheered, clapped and raised slogans of harmony and brotherhood between the two countries.

Driver Badri Prasad, face sticking out from a a heap of garlands, beamed and thumped his chest: “I am not a mere driver. India has sent me as its messenger of love and peace.”

Such was the din that it was difficult to believe that only 260 people were on board the first train which will enter Pakistan sometime tomorrow afternoon after a brief stop at Munabao, the last station on the Indian side. Many were making the journey for the first time. “I had given up hope of meeting my brother in Hyderabad. Never had the money for it,” said 65-year-old Mehrunissa from Jaipur, now on her way to Rahimyar Khan.

Her relief was understandable. Unlike a plane journey that would have cost more than Rs 15,000, Mehrunissa’s trip to Pakistan would be for less than Rs 500. But it wasn’t about money alone.

Dozens of banners and placards, which hundreds of people brought with them in cheerful, noisy processions, summed it up in different languages—English, Hindi and Urdu. But their message was the same: “Thank you God for uniting separated souls.”