Dear Sheharyar
I'm delighted to begin this 'blogversation' with you. Thanks for coming
up with that cool hybrid word. It's quite amazing, isn't it? I mean, the fact
that you and I applied for the Building Peace Project around the same
time, and we both got selected. In addition to that, we also got
paired with each other to share this journey of cross-border
correspondence over a year, leading up to a peace summit where we
actually get to meet each other. Yay! :-) The universe sends these
surprises my way, all the time.
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| Expressing gratitude to the universe |
Sherry, I am not sure what you think of this but I love the fact that it is
going to be a longish interaction, and not just a one-off conference
or workshop. Though you and I have been in touch even before we got
selected for the Building Peace Project, I think our friendship will
have an opportunity to deepen as we explore some of the topics in the
curriculum these folks have created for us. What I also like about the
format of this project is that we have a chance to share from a space
that feels personal, intimate and comfortable. There is no compulsion
here to use peace studies jargon or engage in superficial small talk.
Over the course of this year, I would love to know about your friends
and family, the school you went to, the places that you like visiting,
where you feel most at home, about what moves you, what makes you
happy, what troubles you, about the dreams you have, about the crazy
things you have done, and just about anything you would like to share.
Yaar, in fact, I would love to hear about your relationship to Lahore, the
city you live in. I have been there twice, and I feel a special
connection to that place. I would love to see it from your eyes now.
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| From my first trip to Pakistan - With friends at Government College, Lahore |
Sherry, I am glad that our 'blogversations' will be up for public
viewing so that people who read these can get a flavour of what can
happen when two crazy young men from two different sides of the border
get together in the hope that their little bit is a significant bit in
healing the difficult past their countries share.
However, I do not feel the need to restrict our conversation to topics
around India-Pakistan relations. That would be a bit pretentious,
don't you think? There are so many things that make us who we are.
Nationality is just one of those things. Our shared love of films, our
ability to balance childlike enthusiasm with a deep affinity for
silence and alone time, our relationship to the work we do, the
journeys we want to undertake - these are things we have touched upon
in the past, and I would love for us to go further.
Okay, now I'm going to end this, and return to a fabulous book I have
been reading. It's called The Forty Rules of Love. I picked up this
one at Variety Bookstore in Lahore. However, I began reading it just a
week ago. It is written by a Turkish author named Elif Shafak. The
book is brilliant. It is teaching me so much about life and love,
searching and seeking, welcoming change. Through this, I am learning
about Jelaluddin Rumi and his spiritual companion Shams Tabrizi. This
book is doing something to me. I feel it is slowly transforming me from
within.
Oh by the way, did you know that Rumi's parents were originally from Afghanistan,
would love to go to Rumi's tomb in Konya, Turkey, and also to Shams
Tabrizi's tomb in Multan. Sufism offers such a special way of
understanding the world, and connecting with oneself and people
around. I love it! I've been to Data Darbar in Lahore. The other
shrines in Pakistan that I look forward to visiting are Nankana Sahib,
Bhitshah, Sehwan Sharif, Barri Imam, Panja Sahib, and many others.
Inshallah, I will be able to go to these places someday.
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| Shah Inayat's mazaar in Lahore - My friend Omaid Malik took me there. |
Chalo, I'm signing off! Now waiting for you to write! :-) Ab jaao, likkho na!
Khuda Haafiz
Chintan
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