Montages from memory

Last week, as the flash points at Kargil strafed the mind, Lahore seemed to be another continent, another time zone. The green shoots of ...

Last week, as the flash points at Kargil strafed the mind, Lahore seemed to be another continent, another time zone. The green shoots of February seemed to have withered in the heat of May. So what was all that about? That bus in fluorescent beige that seemed to breach an implacable hostility? And those words of poets and philosophers that were on every tongue, were they just sweet sounds signifying nothing? It is difficult to remember Urdu couplets today.

So was that new dawn that everyone thought had broken out over the subcontinent just a false one after all? It is with a sense of betrayal that these montages of February images drift back, a betrayal of people on both sides of the divide, caught between poetry and the ancient arguments of the gun. They just don8217;t deserve this.

MONTAGE 1: Wagah border, February 20: Pakistan8217;s Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, emerges from his helicopter around 3.45 pm in well-tailored achkan and salwar. Joined by his brother Shahbaaz Sharif, his Information Minister,Mushahid Husain, and other dignitaries, he walks briskly past the gates bearing the insignia of the Crescent and the Star. He crosses a narrow strip of land that bears no name, right up to the gates bearing the emblem of the Ashoka Lions. He takes a few steps further, then turns back and awaits his guests on the Pakistan side of the Wagah boundary.

And there they come, in their newly-painted, wide-windowed bus, past the flag-waving schoolchildren. Led by smiling bhangra dancers, they make the crossing. A large basket of sweets meant for Sharif and his people emerges from the bus and, under the mobile baton of Mohammed Aslam, band master of the 100-year-old Lahore Police Band, the drums strike and the clarinets call.Nawaz Sharif steps up to greet his Indian counterpart. The photographers scream directions. A hug and handshake are duly frozen for posterity. Vajapayee calls this 8220;a defining moment in South Asian history8221;, and tomorrow8217;s headlines will echo the words. For today, Bollywood8217;s very own DevAnand, adored on both sides of the border, cries out, 8220;Generations will remember this moment8221;. Around them, the mustard fields seem to sway in the euphoria of the moment, but it could just be the evening breeze.

MONTAGE 2: Lahore Fort, February 20: In the magnificent fort where Emperor Shah Jehan is said to have been born, over which Emperor Akbar had presided for a full decade, there is a banquet laid out for the Indian Prime Minister in the true spirit of Lahori hospitality. It is redolent with the flavours of Punjab and Kashmir. 8220;My regret,8221; says Prime Minister Vajpayee in his banquet address, 8220;is that we have spent so much time in mutual bitterness. It is unworthy of two nations the size of India and Pakistan to have wasted so much time in mutual ill-will.8221;

Meanwhile, the soup is being served. There is the siri pai, the makki ki roti, the sarson ka saag, the karhi chawal, the chicken karahi, it does not stop this feast. The aroma of the most succulent kebabs that the best cooks of Lahore canmuster laces the air. And for that touch of sweetness 8212; for tonight is the night of sweetness 8212; there is the gajar ka halwa and petha ka halwa, rich with the badams and pistas of the Northwest Frontier.

MONTAGE 3: Governor8217;s House, Lahore, February 21: The babus have been busy. Three documents have emerged from the Indian Prime Minister8217;s 30-hour visit to Lahore. There is a Memorandum of Understanding, a Joint Statement and the Lahore Declaration. Paper promises of peaceful coexistence that are now being readied for the media.

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The world press pours into every polished inch of the exquisite, oak-panelled Durbar Hall of Governor8217;s House. Grown men and women fight like cats to acquire those coveted white sheets of understanding. On the dais, Nawaz Sharif and A.B. Vajpayee beam down on the anxious answer-seekers. They nod in perfect harmony. They have agreed to 8220;intensify their efforts to resolve all issues, including the issue of Jammu and Kashmir8221;. Nod. Nod. They shall 8220;intensify their composite andintegrated dialogue process8221;. Nod. Nod. 8220;Sir, sir,8221; asks the world press, 8220;can you tell us how you both will ensure that this happens. In concrete terms sir?8221; There is no real answer. Just more paper promises. 8220;We will intensify our efforts to resolve all issues. That8217;s all we can say.8221; 8220;For the moment, we can only state that the composite and integrated dialogue process will continue.8221; Nod. Nod.And it has continued in a fashion. The Pakistani side has intensified its efforts to resolve all issues by the stealthy despatch of armed intruders on mountain vacations. The Indian side has responded by a composite and integrated bombing process.

Meanwhile the people of both countries long for peace and good governance.