A line drawn...

As a kid, I would sometimes wish that India was never partitioned by the British. It was their ultimate victory even when leaving India. When so many calories are spent fighting what was your own, it seemed stupid that just because some british guy decided to draw a line on a map, a country gets torn apart for the foreseeable future. Then there was the much anticipated India Pakistan cricket matches and that seemed to be the only plus point for having Pakistan. That was the kid in me..

This time we actually got to see the India Pakistan border at Wagah on the Amritsar trip.

It was quite an experience. Given our US passports, we got to go sit with all the foreigners, which gives you an interesting perspective. We made up for part of the few brown and black people in a sea of white faces on that section. The rest of the gallery was full. 

The changing of the guard ceremony was what we had gone to watch. It was a rehearsed display by the Border Security Force of India and their Pakistani counterparts. We waited for 2 hours in the heat for the ceremony. Given the soldiers were dressed even more than we were and were sweating it out, we used that as motivation to sit and watch the proceedings. 

The flags were brought down, handshakes were in display but so was all the dramatic signs of agression from either side as part of the ceremony. The crowds on either side did not make me comfortable either. There were chants of "down with Pakistan" from the crowd which I thought was uncalled for. There was also the competition to see whose loud speakers could drown out the other side which made your ears hurt. This went on for a full hour. 

It would be great to have pin drop silence with thousands of people on either side of the border stand quietly in solidarity. A large group of silent people always puts things in a different perspective than a loud jeering crowd. 

At the end of the ceremony, it started drizzling and there was a mad dash for the exits and parking lots. Just before leaving, I caught a dove that came and sat right on the flag. It was touching and also ironic that the tension is so high and it takes very little for it to flare up. 

Every country should be proud of its defense forces. You do get goosebumps watching parts of this and seeing what folks sacrificed and continue to sacrifice. Peace is a better option is the only bitter thought that kept rushing back.

Turn the volume low before playing this.. 

On the way back we stopped by a Dhaba for some maggi noodles and tea.

It was perfect for the clammy weather. Kept thinking "how do you get the average person to love and not hate? How do you make folks realize that the other side is not much different?". Did not have very many answers. For one, you cannot force people to do Yoga or breathing. That would help calm folks down, but there has to be a willingness that comes from within. 

It was definitely quite an experience and would recommend this to desi folks in US who are trying to explain the "India-Pakistan" divide to their kids. Expect 20 questions.. or 200 and be prepared and do the right thing and focus on love being the answer.

We went back towards Amritsar for a night visit to the Golden temple.

The Yellow Chilli next to Pathanjali...

On the recent India trip, we visited Amritsar for two days. It is a family deal now that we do a trip within a trip to go see a place that the four of us have never been to within India. This breaks the monotony of visiting the same relatives on a tight schedule in Chennai and Mumbai and flying back. It also gets us to interact with family in a "non-home" setting in India. 

This time it was Amritsar with my in-laws. As soon as we landed at the airport, the tour guide/ driver took us to the hotel which was 15 minutes from the airport. We checked in and the plan was to go to the Wagah border right away with a quick stop for lunch. 

For some reason, he decided that we should go to an upscale "bar" type place. Why, we dont know.. maybe he had a deal with the place. So we went to "The Yellow Chilli". It had Sanjeev Kapoors face everywhere and the ambience was definitely not a "family restaurant" one, but a couples place to get drunk. We were definitely the only family there and there were no kids in the place.

I amused myself by looking at the Pathanjali "super store" next to the restaurant. I did not know there were stores like this. Over the last year, have become a big fan of Pathanjali shampoos. Rate them highly right along Loccitane! I digress. Pathanjali products are great, but this post is about The Yellow CHilli. 

Once the menu items showed up at our table, we really didn't care what the restaurants customer base was. We were hungry and the food looked and tasted great!

Every item was better than the previous one or so it seemed. Then came the final dessert. This thing was downright divine! The hot/cold combination was amazing.

The video says it all..

We gupled the thing down and were off on a drive to the Wagah border. We also told our driver, "this was good.. but next time.. dhaba ka khana!"