INDIAN ?

Recently, I was going through some backdated issues of Hindustan Times newspapers and i came across a very interesting read in the editorial section by Karan Thapar under SUNDAY SENTIMENTS (HT dated 2nd September 2007).

The whole article was about “A miserable hotel in Bombay called the Juhu Plaza has just evicted a legitimate guest, with a perfect booking, because he happens to be a Pakistani. And, whats more, its despicable owner, a creature called Krishnamurthy, appeared on TV and proceeded to defend himself! The hotel claims it has a policy not to admit Pakistanis and Bangladeshis! Isn't that racism?”

Well, when i read that I was so ashamed of calling my self an Indian. Discounting all the talks about Pakistan sponsoring terrorism in India (we all know the ISI so well now), are we justified in treating a 'legitimate Pakistani guest' this way. Surely not.

I remember the days when I had to visit Pakistan some years ago on a business trip. I was working with Bombay based Advertising filmmaker Veena Bakshi who was the lady behind the sucessful “Surf Excel Hai Na!” testimonial campaign which was shot all over India. Unilever (it was formerly called Hindustan Lever in India) wanted to replicate those very films in Pakistan too. Naturally Veena was selected to do those films, to be extensively shot in Lahore and Karachi, Pakistan. As I was assisting Veena those days, Veena (in retrospect, i thank Veena so much for that decision) decided i will assist her throughout in Pakistan. And lo after all the visa's, embassy visits and legal formalities, we were in Pakistan to do those films.

Well, what i went through in Pakistan is exactly the reason i am so terribly angry with our Mr. Krishnamurthy. The moment i was passing through the customs, the militia realised i was an Indian. They asked me to step aside. Gave me a form to fill, I was so scared (Obviously so much was pumped into our brains of Pakistan being our enemy country). But an army officer stepped in and realised my fears and volunteered to help me fill the form. Soon after that an army jeep came in and we were personally escorted to our hotel “The Pearl Continent”. I could not believe the treatment given to us. Veena was very cool as she had already received this treatment earlier( she had already made some visits earlier) and wanted me to experience the whole thing first hand.

Since that day onwards I was never ever made to feel like i was in an 'enemy country'. Very weird i thought. How come i have a different picture of your country ? I had asked an local man who i met during our shoot. He was quite old and very wisely told me in chaste Urdu “ Ek lakeer kichke Do mulk nahin bante beta ! (roughly translated means 'One line drawn cannot divide one nation into two')
Even one auto rickshaw, when realised i am from India, refused to take the fare from me, saying “Aap to hamare bade bhaisaheb hai, bade mulk se mehmaan ban kar aaye ho, aap se paise kaise loon?” (Translated means “ You are our elder brother, coming from a bigger country as our guest, so how can i take monies from you?”) Now, tell me guys when i had such a lovely and wonderful stay in Pakistan and not just me, you will get the same stories from all those who have visited Pakistan, isn't it shameful that one Mr.Krishnamurthy subjects one legitimate Pakistani to such a treatment.

Like mentioned in the article, Mr. Karan Thapar's friend Pertie said “The world is watching us,” and Mr. Thapar replied “Maybe, but as far as I'm concerned we're looking at the mirror and watching ourselves. And I'm not sure I like what I see!”