Two loudly sirening police vehicles in the front, two in the rear, and two policemen inside the bus...we watched a Hindi film during the ride, but it felt like I was in a Hindi film. This is the "peace bus" I took from the Ambedekar bus station near Old Delhi to Lahore. The ride was about 8 hours, plus 4 hrs for breaks and border paperwork.
Once I reached Lahore, I realized there really was no need for such security. I call Roop, a friend's friend and a phenominal volunteer for Friends Without Borders (www.friendswithoutborder.org) , from the Lahore-Dehli bustop for directions. Never having met, she openly welcomes me into her home...and into a dream. I was expecting to find a city much like any city in India dealing with over population and lack of the Western world's definition of infrastructure. I found the complete opposite.
Lahore has a center which has its fair share of slums. I didn't get a chance to see this part of the city in my 24hrs there. Roop's mom is head of the Microbiology Dept. at the University of the Punjab, the largest university in Asia...as I was told. The campus could have been Stanford...and Roop's family could have easily been a Bay area family.
Her mom is extremely outgoing. Her Nanima is extremely open. Her Aunt is professor of Environmental Studies. I was showered with so much love. Nanima non-stop told me of her Indian friends and memories she treasures of them. ...She treated me as if I transpired the priceless for her...again great showers of Love...in her thick Punjabji...me replying in my wanna-be Hindi.
...Roop and I tried our best to explain Friends Without Borders to Nanima....little did she know that she embraces the India-Pakistan context that Friends Without Borders wants to resurrect.
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