Posted on 04/18/2005 11:25:37 AM PDT by desidude_in_us
NEW DELHI: Visiting Pakistanis, fed for long on fables, rumours and stories about India, are making the most of the chance to confirm all they ever heard.
Ranan Ghulam Qoadir, an agriculturist from Lahore here to watch the India-Pakistan cricket match on Sunday, had heard that Muslims simply "disappear" in India.
But after clocking 24 hours in Delhi, he could not stop singing praises of India and Indians.
"There is so much of a difference between what I had heard and what I saw. I have been treated like a VVIP here. The moment my Pakistani identity was revealed, their hospitality became more apparent," Qoadir said.
Qoadir, busy shopping at the open-air shopping plaza Dilli Haat, however, said cricket was just an excuse for most Pakistanis to visit India.
"Every Pakistani has a strong desire to visit India at least once. We have heard so many fables about India from our grandparents and even parents. Cricket is just an excuse..... I did not watch the entire match," he confessed.
Neither did Ghulam Hussain, a Lahore-based businessman, who left the match venue within an hour of the start of play. Dressed in a white salwar kameez, Hussain was on his first visit to India and visibly enjoying every bit of it.
With hands weighed down by shopping bags - dress materials, footwear and ethnic Indian curios - his next stop was to be a south Indian restaurant to gobble up some "idlis".
"I had my fill of north Indian food in the afternoon, at Karim's near the Jama Masjid. I didn't find it much different from our food. Now I'm looking for some idli and vada (south Indian dishes)," Hussain said.
"I have not seen much difference in Delhi and Lahore except for the zubaan (language). However, I have had a great time and want to make the most of it before I leave," he said.
Most of the visitors had a problem with visa restrictions that prohibit them from leaving the capital. Almost all of them would have loved to visit Ajmer and Agra.
"I know it will take time for ties between our countries to normalise. But why should we be restricted from travelling to places where all other tourists are free to go?" asked Hussain.
Nevertheless, they were a happier lot after visiting the country they had heard so much about.
Taking time off from his real estate business in Lahore, Fareed Barkatullah decided to come to India with his family. But unfortunately he could come only with his brother.
"There is so much of love and friendship between the two qaums (nations). It is time for us to forget the past and get together for the future," Barkatullah said.
He is carrying home a small, locally made single-stringed instrument for his 10 year old daughter, as she loves music and is very fond of Bollywood songs.
"I hope future generations do not have to contend with just fables and stories," Barkatullah said.
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