Conversations with a Paki
I couldn't have asked for a better companion. I was traveling from my Business School to the Executive centre ( a Bus Ride of 40 minutes) in the School Bus. The seat next to me was vacant and Ali came and sat next to me. I knew his name was Ali, having seen him in my Finance Class. I said Hi to him and asked where he was from .He said, " Islamabad,Pakistan" .
I told him about my great admiration for the Pakistani Ghazal music and " Mehdi Hassan" being one of my favourite singers. He was surprised that my mother tongue wasn't Hindi (he thought entire India speaks Hindi ) & asked me what Madras was famous for. " Marina Beach,Silk Sarees & carnatic music " I told (Not sure if madrasis agree with my view).
I asked him where he used to work. " Pakistani Foreign Ministry" , he replied. This got me hooked. We debated then about the foreign Policy of both Countries,India's right to entry to UN Security Council, Kashmir problem and India's booming economy. Though he was non-commital on most topics,I felt pakistan feels Kashmir is as much theirs as we feel its ours.He was apparently an admirer of Gen.Mushraff and even felt benevolent dictatorship was good (Thankfully , he didn't see the Book "1984" by George Orwell in my Hands ! ).
He asked me an unforgettable question when I was about to get down , " Who is Bal Thackeray & where does he live ? "
I couldn't have asked for a better companion. I was traveling from my Business School to the Executive centre ( a Bus Ride of 40 minutes) in the School Bus. The seat next to me was vacant and Ali came and sat next to me. I knew his name was Ali, having seen him in my Finance Class. I said Hi to him and asked where he was from .He said, " Islamabad,Pakistan" .
I told him about my great admiration for the Pakistani Ghazal music and " Mehdi Hassan" being one of my favourite singers. He was surprised that my mother tongue wasn't Hindi (he thought entire India speaks Hindi ) & asked me what Madras was famous for. " Marina Beach,Silk Sarees & carnatic music " I told (Not sure if madrasis agree with my view).
I asked him where he used to work. " Pakistani Foreign Ministry" , he replied. This got me hooked. We debated then about the foreign Policy of both Countries,India's right to entry to UN Security Council, Kashmir problem and India's booming economy. Though he was non-commital on most topics,I felt pakistan feels Kashmir is as much theirs as we feel its ours.He was apparently an admirer of Gen.Mushraff and even felt benevolent dictatorship was good (Thankfully , he didn't see the Book "1984" by George Orwell in my Hands ! ).
He asked me an unforgettable question when I was about to get down , " Who is Bal Thackeray & where does he live ? "
posted by Cogito at
Friday, September 24, 2004
5 Comments:
interesting....anyway, lot of pakistanis here too....if they ask what is madras famous for....i will say masala dosa :)
By
kaatss, at 11:51 PM
Oscillator,You & I never know what it is to live in Pak.So it shouldn't be surprising.
Kaats,I thought the Udupis had hijacked the Brand " Masala Dosa".
By
Cogito, at 9:29 AM
Arun,
Yes its very strange, being people from neighbouring countries, we dont a lot about Pak and they dont know about us. Actually this is quite a sad situation, when we know more about pittsburgh than pakistan.
By
Anonymous, at 1:16 PM
the previous question was mine - hari
By
Anonymous, at 5:32 PM
Very True Hari.
By
Cogito, at 7:26 PM
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