Wagah Border, Punjab,
India
It had rained all day and the crowd at the
Indo-Pak border near Attari village (32 km from Amritsar; nearest Pakistani
village is Wagah) had come prepared with their rain gear. The main event is
a "closing of the border" ceremony that I found comic, surreal, and
disquieting at the same time. Hundreds of Indian tourists had turned up (as
they do everyday) and stood in the pouring rain in stadium-like stands
built for the purpose. They shouted Bharat Mata Ki Jai! (Hail
Mother India!), Hindustan Zindabad! (Long Live India!), and Vande Matram! (Hail
to the Motherland!),
spontaneously when not at the behest of a Border Security Force (BSF) jawan on
a loudspeaker. The Pak side had only a dozen spectators.
Periodically, the BSF jawans played
patriotic film songs on loudspeakers. In one such, the singer thought
nothing better than dying for the motherland. Just then a bunch of young men
rushed down from the stands on to the (GT) road to Pakistan and burst
into a vigorous bhangra routine a few feet from the border. The border
closing ceremony had men from each side marching towards each other with
histrionic gestures and speed, theatrical facing-off, and
retreating. Flags were hoisted and pulled down, trumpets blown, gates opened and finally
shut
for the night, as the crowd roared lustily. I couldn't help
remembering Toba
Tek Singh, Manto's story about exchanging a bunch of lunatics at the
border. [- Sep 06]
