www.london-student.net · 17th September 2007LondonStudent INDIA TRAVEL · 25
TThhee rreeaall IInnddoo--PPaakkiissttaann ccoonnfflliiccttJJoo CCaaiirrdd eexxppeerriieenncceess bboorrddeerr ddiissppuuttee aass ssppeeccttaattoorr ssppoorrtt iinn tthhee PPuunnjjaabbEvery evening the Indo-Pakistanborder explodes into life. But at thisexpression of nationalist feeling thehostilities are all choreographed andthe loitering crowds are not refugeesbut tourists. This is the Wagah Bor-der Ceremony, the best natured ex-pression of a long-running borderdispute the world has ever seen.From Amritsar, the spiritual home
of the world’s Sikh community, anhour’s autorickshaw ride throughPunjabi countryside will get you toWagah, an army outpost on the Indo-Pakistan border. At Amritsar’s GoldenTemple the pious wash in the goldfish-filled tank, queue for hours to spend afew moments praying under the central shrine’s gilded dome and partake of the daily free lunch. Manythousands of pilgrims pass throughthe temple every day but the atmosphere remains tranquil. Compare this to the mood at the
border: hoards of excited Indians arrive by bus or autorickshaw and aredropped off by the shantytown of teastalls. Tourists are practically tackledby small children selling paper Indianflags as they stream along the road towards the staging area.On either side of the gateway that
marks the border is a guardroom witha terrace area in front of it and severalgrandstands. Half an hour before theborder closing ceremony is scheduledto begin, they are already filled withpeople; there must be 3,500 of them.The middle section of the biggestgrandstand is reserved for women;their colourful saris make this thebrightest crowd you’ll ever see.An MC appears on the road in front
of the guardroom on the India side.The already-excited crowd arewhipped into a frenzy by his patrioticcalls. In between shouts a similar noiseis heard from through the gateway intoPakistan. Music plays and a few menclamber down from their seats andbegin to dance. These few become acrowd as more men, then a couple ofdaring women join in the revelry. Theroad is filled with people, all of themperspiring heavily as they leap andspin to the music. It’s like a wedding
where every guest is someone’s embar-rassing dad. Eventually the moment arrives for
the border closing ceremony to beginand the MC calls for calm. Thedancers return to their seats. A groupof soldiers dressed in dashing red uniforms and shiny white spats appearin front of the guardroom. They walkproudly, staring straight ahead, thencome to a halt. A long note is calledand each soldier in turn stomps,strides and runs towards the gateway.There they meet their Pakistani
opposites; apart from the uniforms,which are blue rather than red, the cer-emony is exactly the same on the otherside of the border. The meetings of thepairs of soldiers are choreographeddown to the smallest detail and thecrowd roars its support throughout.The gates are flung open and the soldiers grimace at each other, goose-step about and trade mimicked insults.Finally each pair shake hands, a symbol of the potential for peace between these two strong-willed nations. As all this goes on the excited
audience surges onto the road to get abetter view and take photographs ofthe po-faced and amazingly moustachioed military men. When the gate is shut, the flags
lowered and the soldiers back in theirguardroom, the mood is one of jubila-tion as people are ushered back to theirwaiting autorickshaws and the gaunt-let of opportunistic child salesmen. Ifonly all India and Pakistan’s issuescould be resolved by men in ornatehats pulling funny faces at each other.
“ ” “ ”It’s like a wedding where every guest is an embarrassing dad. “ ” “ ”
TRAVEL DETAILSWhere to stayIn Amritsar we stayed at TouristGuesthouse (+91 0183 255 3830, 1355GT Rd), where doubles with bath-room are 300Rs (approximately£3.50). The Guesthouse can organisean autorickshaw that will comfort-ably seat three people to and from the border for 300Rs. This is far easierand cheaper than hailing one on thestreet.
How to get thereIt is possible to fly directly to Amritsar from London with AirIndia. Most carriers fly to Delhiwhich is 10 hours away by bus or 5 ¾hours by express train.
Photo: JO CAIRD
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