Dear Sheroo!
I wanted to surprise you with something you might like, and I hope this is it. One of the new things I had determined to do this year was to revive this blog we had collaborated on for a whole year as part of the Red Elephant Foundation's Building Peace Project. Our last post was in November 2014. That is more than two years ago. Do you feel like giving it a shot again? I really enjoyed writing to you, and would love to do more.
See, amidst all this babbling, I totally forgot to wish you for the new year. I hope 2017 is excellent for you, a lot nicer than 2016 was. To be honest, I don't even know much of what 2016 was like for you. We were both so busy that we ended up not talking all that much. Khair, I promise to be a better friend this year.
Did you go out and celebrate New Year's Eve? I was at home most of the day with my parents, working on my laptop, reading a bit, and cooking a delicious carrot-cauliflower broth with some sautéed onions, grated ginger, ghee and pepper. Not your kind of thing, I know. Hahaha! And well, I also spent some time in prayer. It was a quiet, little celebration for me.
Before going off to bed, I wanted to write to you. I hope you will consider seriously my invitation to resurrect this blog. Many people from India as well as Pakistan have told me that they used to look forward to our posts, and I am sure that others too would be interested in what we have to say.
If India and Pakistan were two individuals dating each other, their Facebook profiles would indicate 'in a complicated relationship'. Thankfully, you and I have learnt to relate to each other as individuals, and not as representatives of our countries trying to defend our governments' official positions.
Let's hope that 2017 is better for our region. I want you to be able to travel to India, and visit all the places that you have been dreaming of. And I wish the same for all Pakistanis and Indians wishing to cross the border to meet friends, go on pilgrimages, study, see new places, or just see what the big deal about the other side is.
I wanted to surprise you with something you might like, and I hope this is it. One of the new things I had determined to do this year was to revive this blog we had collaborated on for a whole year as part of the Red Elephant Foundation's Building Peace Project. Our last post was in November 2014. That is more than two years ago. Do you feel like giving it a shot again? I really enjoyed writing to you, and would love to do more.
See, amidst all this babbling, I totally forgot to wish you for the new year. I hope 2017 is excellent for you, a lot nicer than 2016 was. To be honest, I don't even know much of what 2016 was like for you. We were both so busy that we ended up not talking all that much. Khair, I promise to be a better friend this year.
Did you go out and celebrate New Year's Eve? I was at home most of the day with my parents, working on my laptop, reading a bit, and cooking a delicious carrot-cauliflower broth with some sautéed onions, grated ginger, ghee and pepper. Not your kind of thing, I know. Hahaha! And well, I also spent some time in prayer. It was a quiet, little celebration for me.
Before going off to bed, I wanted to write to you. I hope you will consider seriously my invitation to resurrect this blog. Many people from India as well as Pakistan have told me that they used to look forward to our posts, and I am sure that others too would be interested in what we have to say.
If India and Pakistan were two individuals dating each other, their Facebook profiles would indicate 'in a complicated relationship'. Thankfully, you and I have learnt to relate to each other as individuals, and not as representatives of our countries trying to defend our governments' official positions.
Let's hope that 2017 is better for our region. I want you to be able to travel to India, and visit all the places that you have been dreaming of. And I wish the same for all Pakistanis and Indians wishing to cross the border to meet friends, go on pilgrimages, study, see new places, or just see what the big deal about the other side is.
I have decided that there is no point in lamenting the inaction of our governments if we refuse to also be proactive in pursuing the agenda of peace. I plan to use the power of my pen (and keyboard) more diligently this year, and collaborate more closely with others who are interested in getting things between India and Pakistan to a better place. Our civilians could use all that crazy military expenditure for electricity, toilets, schools, so many things. Our soldiers could also get some respite from being unnecessarily made into fodder for this hungry war machine that is being operated by both politicians and the media.
Let's get our home in order, Sheroo.
Love,
Chintan
(By the way, that photograph up there is from Srinagar. I couldn't find anything else to go with this post. Aren't the chinar trees just gorgeous? I fell in love with them when I went there recently. Thinking about how our countries have totally screwed up things for people in Kashmir makes me quite upset but let's talk about that another time.)
