Upon reaching Delhi we were greeted both by a loud, irritable, and rather large customs officer, as well as by flowers, gifts and a warm welcome from our hosts, the organization ASHA and many school representatives. The press was there as well, and it was the beginning of an entirely unexpected relationship with them.
The first interaction with the Indian people was an informal gathering. The kindness they showed us was, in my initial opinion, imposed on them due to the situation. But when we got a chance to talk completely of our own accord, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the warmth was sincere.
Most of our time in India was spent in Lucknow. Those seven days were the ones that left a permanent imprint on me. The main organization involved with our visit was ASHA, a voluntary organization. Their main crew was with us from the time we left Delhi, till the very last moment upon reaching Delhi again, which was a period of almost nine days. As time progressed, my impression of these people developed from being organized, friendly, and hospitable people to knowing that they were exceptional in many other ways. Their selflessness, honesty, simplicity, and the harmony between their beliefs and their practices, was something I had never seen before. I became so comfortable with them that I would stay nights at their place, uninvited.
The picture is indeed as rosy as I have described. To understand this, you will have to experience what my fellow students and I saw and felt. But the problems exist because the political fronts put up by each country take control of its people's minds by creating an image about the other using the media, the education system, prejudiced historical 'facts', and other subtle and not-so-subtle ways. Both governments defy the fundamental reason for their existence, which is to implement the wishes of the people. The people on both sides want peace but the governments on both sides do not. Surely they can't be stupid enough not to understand what the people want….or can they?. The 'people' I speak of are not just the educated ones who have been told that promoting peace is the correct thing to do, as is commonly perceived.
In bazaars, restaurants, villages, and public meetings of Delhi, Lucknow, Agra, and wherever else we went, people were exceptionally pleased and good to me upon knowing that I was from Pakistan. They were usually the initiators of conversation on peace and the unfortunate politics between the two countries. They would inquire which city I was from, and almost always tell me about some relative of theirs living somewhere in Pakistan.