Love thy neighbour

India and Pakistan are unique in their similarities. Quite simply they seem to love to hate each other. Their politicians having realized this have used it for all the wrong reasons. Not many in either country have a chance to meet someone from the other side and what we carry along is the prejudice about a stereotype born out of decades long propaganda and selective information sharing.

When I came to this place, I had no idea I would be crossing paths with my neighbors so often. They form a sizable chunk of the demography here. Dubai is a city of dreams for them and since late nineties a more preferred destination than many western countries. So you are bound to come across a Pakistani every now and then.. and like Indians you find them in all strata of life. From my barber to my taxi driver to colleagues in office, I have interacted with more Pakistanis than I ever thought I would.

The first time I went into a barber's shop, my friend told me "Why this one, there is a gujju shop down the lane.." Did not make a difference to me and I walked in. And of course there is no difference. Language is not a problem, they understand and speak Hindi like most of us and the conversations inside was not any different than you would have had in shop in Mumbai.

A lot of the taxi drivers seem to be from Pakistan also. They too are not very different from the talkative ones I am used to in India. The stories are simillar. Economic compulsions have driven them out like to this city and the dreams and aspirations are ones that you can easily identify with. One of them actually really surprised us with his chaste Punjabi. It took a while for the fact to sink in that there is Punjab beyond what we know..

Then of course, there are the highly educated professionals that share your workspace. Less talkative and as diplomatic as you could be in avoiding any topics regarding either country. But like any professional from the sub-continent, the talks do stray off to small talk on cricket, movies and sometimes a little Bush bashing.

But all this interaction slowly gives you tit bits of information that lets you feel that your neighbour is also like you afterall. Here are a few interesting views you would probably never get to know..

Karachi is spoken with the same passion as you speak of Bombay. It is a city of dreams, growing fast and is comming out as the economic hub.

Musharaff how much you may like to hate him, is considered much better than many past rulers and definitely the present one. I just could not help asking "Why??" He told me, "As far as I am concerned, he did bring development. My village now has water..."

All this present standoff, for a person near the Wagah border is all bad. The trade has stopped and they dont understand why people can't behave in a more matured, realistic manner and live to prosper together...