15 India

Day 15 p.m. – Amritsar and Pakistan Border

After a long lunch, we got on a bus and headed to the border with Pakistan.  It did not take that long to get there and we parked in a busy car park.

Indian Border Soldiers

Flag Races

We were not allowed to take bags, so I left my rucksack on the bus, taking just my camera and handbag.  It was a long walk from the car park to the border, but we got there eventually.  Just before the border, we had to go through a security check.  There were long queues, but we jumped the queue again.  Luckily, my handbag was small enough to pass.

Stands next to Ours

Stand Facing the Border

Having got through, we passed a very tall soldier.  His exceptional height was enhanced by high soles to his boots and a red fan made from the band which went round his hat.  He directed us to the stand for foreigners, which was nearest to the border.  The stand was filling from the back and another soldier made sure that no one left any gaps as they sat down.  Occasionally Indians tried to cross into the stand, but the soldier blew his whistle and told them to keep out.

Flags at End of Races

Dancing

Once we were settled, we were able to watch the proceedings.  People were having races, two by two, carrying the Indian flag.  People walked down and queued for the chance to join in.  Some of the soldiers were responsible for giving the flags to the runners.  As more people came down, they began to race with four flags at a time.  Meanwhile, the stands continued to fill up and we could see the stand diagonally opposite on the Pakistani side of the border slowly beginning to fill up with women.  Some privileged people sat at the ground level, opposite us, where they could get a really good view.

Fast Walk to the Border

Soldiers and Privileged Audience

Eventually the races stopped and some flag bearers ran up the steps beside our stand and stopped.  Next they played some music and many young people went down and started dancing.  I recognised some of the steps as being typical Bollywood moves.  More and more people joined the dancing and it was a real party atmosphere.

Ladies in Pakistan

Unfortunately, when the music stopped any the border closing ceremony began, the dancers had to dash to the stands and the careful seating plan was destroyed in an instant.  Worse, some people stood up, which meant that the views were restricted.  A chant was started up, with the response from the crowd being “Hindustan”.

Guards on Both Sides

A soldier shouted, kicked his leg up high and then did a fast walk to the border gate.  Others joined him and there was a lot of strutting and posturing, shouting and gesturing and it was replicated on the Pakistani side.  Their soldiers were not as flamboyant as the Indian ones and wore black with belts and hats trimmed with red.  Their hats were crowned by narrower plumes rising from a single point at the back of their hats.  There seemed to be lots of empty seats over there.

Then there was exaggerated swishing of flag ropes and more posturing.  The soldiers shouted at each other across the border with their arms held out wide, as if to say “You Shall Not Pass”.

Sorting out Flag Ropes

People now started to shuffle forwards and, after being kicked a few times, I stood up too.  The view was still intermittent.

The Pakistanis played their national anthem.  Then the Indian anthem was played, but it was hard to hear with all the noise going on.  The flags were lowered, folded and marched back to the gate house and the gates separating the two countries were shut.  Although, I was not able to see much of this, the atmosphere was amazing.

You Shall Not Pass!!

Then it was all over and we had to make our way out and walk back to the car park.  We waited for the bus in front of a café and some people bought a drink.  Then Rafeeq led us to the car park behind, but we could not find the bus there.  Eventually we tracked it down – exactly where we had left it!

Back at the hotel, we had time to brush up and do a bit of packing before going down for dinner.  I left Jude and went to the bar, where I sat with Ken and Sue.  I had a screwdriver, but it had salt on the rim so was not particularly nice.   So I reverted back to lime and soda for my next drink.  At least I got enough change to be able to finally repay Bob the money I had borrowed from him.

I had another vegetable jalfrezi, but this time with rice instead of naan bread.  It was a huge portion of rice, so Sue had some.  It was a good meal, but not as nice as at lunch.  I got everyone’s email addresses and promised to pass them round as soon as I got home.

At the end of the meal, Ken and Sue left to visit the Golden Temple in the moonlight.  Next morning, they said that it was very pretty and lit up all over.  The others went to the bar.  I did not feel too well and went straight to bed.

Day 16 – Home again

Not that exciting a day, so I have summarised the highlights (and lowlights) as:

·        seeing a rat in the dining room at breakfast :-(

·        first plane late on take off :-(

·        no time to buy duty free at Delhi airport :-(

·        plane taking off late from Delhi :-(

·        my rucksack being almost last one off conveyor belt – big panic!

·        not being able to say goodbye to anyone except Bob :-(

·        making it to Kings Cross in time for my train :-)

The end

Coming soon(ish):

North Africa: A tale of wonderful ruins and nasty bugs