AMAZING
JOURNEY OF PAKISTAN
I had been on the city tours with Kailash
Kher but had little knowledge that I would be following him to Pakistan as
well.
In mid-February Kailash Kher told me
that I would be accompanying him along with his band Kailasa for the Pakistan
tour that will be happening in mid March. To this news my first reaction was
that of surprise followed by a thought, “Wow! Pakistan! One in a million
opportunity to visit the country which was once a part of India!” There have
been quite a lot of changes unseen unheard that have taken place on the soils
of Pak ever since the independence which I surely wanted to see. However, there
was a hitch in the mind about the terrorist atmosphere prevailing in this
territory. But thinking about it as a lifetime opportunity and considering that
Kailash Kher and his band will be going, I decided to go on this tour. Though
some of well wisher advised me to don’t stumped Pakistani visa on your passport
otherwise you will be in trouble while going to USA and UK there they will ask
you thousand questions but I thought I am not Khan, Shahrukh Khan.
The excitement of seeing this country
welled up and I Googled to know more about Lahore & Karachi. This research yield me an observation that
stayed with me throughout the journey and back – The city of Lahore &
Karachi were much like any metropolitan Indian cities. The research added to my
fascination and excitement about visiting Pakistan. I wanted to see for myself
what I had read so far and to be present on the soil of Pakistan and breathe in
its culture. However, by end of February I was told that due to some permission
issues the show might get postpone to April. This news made me apprehensive
about the show and I worried if the show might get cancelled due to the political
and other such issues.
Kailash Kher’s manager Pakul Chaturvedi was
confident that the show will be on. And then finally on the first week of April
I was informed that the show will be on 13th and 14th of
April in Lahore and Karachi respectively. Adding to this excitement was yet
another piece of news that on the 13th we will be going to Pakistan
via crossing the Wagah Border. Few years ago when I had done the PR of
music launch of Dr. Chandraprakash Dwivedi’s movie Pinjar at Wagah
Border I had thought to myself, “If only I could get a chance to cross the
border by foot and enter the country of Pakistan, I would!”, having little
knowledge that my prayer shall be answered.
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| Harish Sharma at Wagah Border |
Lahore is nearly on an hour distance from
Amritsar (around 57 km) and the distance from Wagah border to Lahore airport is
of approximately 30 minutes (around 28 km). Considering this calculation we
reached Wagah border around 8:00 am but we were told that the gates will open
only by 9:30 am or 10:00 am and that we should wait. But after a lot of
requesting that our flight is at 11:00 am we were given the permission to
complete the formalities. We were the first travelers to enter the new customs
building which was inaugurated on the of 12th . We were 15 people
but the customs officers nearly consumed more than 45 precious minutes of ours
to fulfill the formalities and 45 minutes more to get a picture with Kailash
Kher! However, one thing that saddened us was the plight of the officers as
they did all the work manually and the in adeptness of these officers with
simple scanning machines. In the age of computerization this remains the
condition of our “Custom offices.” Somehow the luggage scanning was completed
and we were taken to a bus which drove us to the Indian side of Wagah Border. It
was hardly a 5 minute drive, we got off near the border there were 7 to 8
Indian porters waiting to handover our luggage to the porters from the Pakistan
side. These porters were more than 60 years of age and were considered best for
this job because their age, experience and maturity would make them stay put on
their side of the country and not cross the country which is a mistake that a
toddler might do.
After reaching the border the Indian customs
officer made a request to the Pakistani check post officer that a renowned
singer Kailash Kher & his band Kailasa will be performing in Karachi and
their flight will be at 11:00 am, hearing which the Pakistani officers promptly
invited us to fulfill the formalities and cross the border.
It was a moment of glory, a moment we all
were eagerly looking forward to, a moment to cross the border. Most of the band
members crossed the check post and entered Pakistan’s customs building only few
of us stayed back to click the pictures. There were hardly any officials posted
on the Pakistan check post which is quiet unusual but the most unusual of the
facts happened without my knowledge. It might have been the atmosphere and the
inherited patriotic feelings because in a blink of an eye I had raised my hand
and was shouting “Hindustan zindabad”. To my relief this incident wasn’t much
noticed by the Pak officials, however, Paresh Kamath who was standing only few
feet away, heard this, his initial shock turned into laughter and this laughter
brought me back to the reality. As reality hit me I realized what I was upto!
Following this incident I even got an advice of sorts from Kailash Kher,
whispering in my ears, he said, “Be careful about the patriotic feelings
Harishji.” Smiling I agreed to be vigilant the next time.
When we reached the customs building it was
around 9:15. We were greeted by the Pakistani Kabaddi team. Not only did the
team recognize Kailash Kher but rest other officials present on duty were also
keen to meet the singer and a get a snap with him. Once free from the
shutterbugs we went in for clearance but one of the two computers was kaput due
to the electricity failure as informed by the officials. This again consumed
most our time and by the time we were free it was already 10:15 am. No sooner
did we get free from the official formalities we were greeted yet again by 7 to
8 Pakistani porters all of whom wanted a picture with Kailash Kher. Two aged
porter brothers attracted Kailash Kher’s attention and it was now Kailash
Kher’s turn to want a picture with these two. Kailash Kher appreciated that
even though these porters were so old yet they were working and not begging.
En route to Lahore airport we saw how very
similar the city is to our cities, the roads, the people, the shops, everything
was cut frame to frame. Only difference was of hoardings, Schools and shop
boards some of which were in Urdu and some were in English. People were dressed
in decent Salwar kurta and their language and behavior towards us was very
friendly. However, by the time we reached the airport it was already 11:00 am
and we had missed our flight. The next flight to Karachi would leave at 6:30 pm
and the show was at 8:00 pm. Having no choice we waited at the airport by the
time our luggage full of musical instruments was checked in with the help of
airport manager.
In the boarding area there were no tea and
snacks shops although water machine was there yet the thirst for tea and coffee
could not have been satisfied with water. But when a boy approached us asking
for tea-coffee orders, it was a great relief.10 Minutes later he brought the
order and asked for Rs 2500 for the order of 11 teas and 4 coffees. Who says,
you get duped only on the ghats of Benaras? However, our mediator Atma Prakash
convinced the guy to take Rs 1200 only.
Finally we thought it best to take some
rest before leaving for Karachi as there was ample of time in our hand. While
heading for the hotel I asked Atma Prakash
about the Hindus who live in Pakistan on which he said, “You will meet
100s of Hindus in Karachi itself, bhaijan!”Having one Atma Prakash amongst us
was enough to satisfy our curiosity so we asked no more and headed towards
Hotel PC. Hotel PC stood for Pearl Continental much to our dismay who had been
thinking of it as a tribute to Priyanka Chopra. Priyanka or not but the hotel
was fantastic!
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| Kailash Kher and Harish Sharma at Wagah Border |
Around 4:00 pm we started for the airport
enjoying the beautiful broad roads of the city and greenery on either side. The
roads were lined up with number of Toyota cars and few well-crafted artistic
buses. The crowd that was heading for their works or errands or returning to
their home had a mix of decently dressed males and as much attractive women
crowd who seemed to have shouldered the responsibilities just like Indian
working women. The traffic was a reminder of the Indian metropolis but the
traffic sense seemed okay. There were only few female beggars visible by the
signals and some three wheelers were also seen making a dash to their
destination. However, the two wheeler drivers were seen without the helmets and
we were informed by our chauffeur that “Here the helmets aren’t compulsory!”
The
airport road gave a sense of déjà vu as we felt like we were crossing T3 Delhi
airport roads. Lahore proved to be a beautiful city with bungalows etched on
either side of the road, having big garden areas and defense areas. We also
passed a big mall called as the Mall of Lahore. While heading to our destination
I observed the craze of the citizens for Former Pakistani cricketer Imran Khan.
In number of places there were banners in his name which piqued my curiosity
and I asked some people if there are chances of Imran Khan becoming the Prime
minister of the country. To which came the reply, “Though the new generation
likes him pretty much to the point of being crazy about him but to become the
PM of this country he will have to compromise and shake hands with other
parties as well as he should be in the
good book of agencies.” The word agencies didn’t strike any cords with my
knowledge of politics however the meaning revealed was not only surprising but
made complete sense of the turmoil and theocracy prevailing in this land.
We reached the airport around 5:00 pm but
then again the fans of Kailash Kher wouldn’t let us move past without getting
Kailash’s picture and autograph and it took us nearly 45 minutes to get done
with the autographs and photographs. Though it wasn’t us who were giving the
autographs and posing for the photographs yet the bore feeling we got was
absent on Kailash Kher’s face. He was much patient, kind and sweet to every fan
of his. And throughout the tour he never said no to any of his fan for the
picture or the autograph. Before boarding the flight we bumped into Pakistan’s
well-known singer Abrar ul Haq who greeted Kailash with warm smile as he said,
“I am a great fan of yours!” In spite of not knowing the chap, Kailash’s
persona filled this small rendezvous with a steady happiness and Abrar left
saying, “When I come down to India I will surely make it a point to meet you.”
The duration between Lahore and Karachi was
lessened as the staff and passengers on board occupied themselves with
Kailash’s autograph and photograph. The kissa of autograph and
photograph became a common sight to me which only proved how very popular
Kailash is not only in India but also in its neighboring countries.
When we landed at Karachi it was already
8:00 pm and we had to rush to the hotel and then to the venue. But Kailash Kher
was again greeted by a lot of his fans and could not get past them so the band
directly went to the venue while I and Kailash made a dash for the hotel as
soon as the fans were done with the pictures with Kailash Kher. While the band
members occupied themselves with clearing the technical details like checking
sound systems we were put into the grips of tight security.
One police van headed our car and 3 other
cars followed behind. The cops seated in the van ahead of us carried AK47 and looked
sturdy and well-built. While cutting the distance from airport to hotel it felt
like streets of Delhi, some places reminded us of Laxminagar, some places had
the aura of Janakpuri and around the way to the hotel it felt like Dhaula kuan.
When we reached the hotel the keys to the
room were with a female staff however for the security reasons she wasn’t
allowed to enter the lift with us. We were made to stand outside the room as
the security made the rounds of the suite to make sure of the safety. Not only
were the security personnel making rounds of our rooms but many more were
present in the hotel in civil dress. With such a security given to us it was
very clear how the situation in the city was and for a few minutes the fear of
being unsafe crept back in my mind. What deepened the fear was the advice given
by the security personnel -“Be careful even during the performance. Do not get
close to any unknown person”, they said. But instead of being worried about the
security issues what ailed Kailash Kher was getting late for the gig. However,
our mediator Atma Prakash assured us, “Don’t worry sir, this is Karachi. Here
the night life begins by 11:00 pm. Your fans are patiently waiting for you, so
don’t worry!”
When we reached the venue for the concert -
Beach Luxury resorts- we had to enter the gates by swiping a plastic card. We
reached the venue at around 10:30 pm and the security made sure to keep us away
from the crowd and other strangers. We were expecting the crowd to hail
complaints about being late but to our surprise no one complained rather the
audience seemed joyous and cheered up and welcomed Kailash Kher with their
greetings and clapping.
Kailash Kher kick started the concert with
the song “Jogi” and set the stone rolling. While the audience present enjoyed
every bit of the concert, I sat in a corner and observed the crowd. The crowd
present for the concert was elite; all were up to date with the fashion and
style which made the city of Karachi seem like the Bombay of Pakistan. Most
present in the crowd were young boys and girls and everyone seemed to have
sense of music as they sang and swayed along with Kailash Kher. This reminded
that even in the hotel room when I switched on the television all the music
channels played Bollywood songs which sure did reflect in the crowd’s sense of
music.
Much to our surprise the female crowd
present was not in burqa but jeans-tops and midies. The security was tight and
almost all of them carried an AK47 or Mauser even though some officers were in
civil dress. Looking over the crowd and the corners I had a glimpse of a group
of 7-8 youngsters with their girlfriends happily drinking and enjoying the
music. In between the girls would move to sip the wine and go back to enjoy the
music. Before coming down to this place I had a vision of a strict country with
stringent rules and separate living for guys and girls. However, this place was
just like Mumbai and Delhi where the high society crowd openly hugs and kiss
each other.
When I was thinking that this gig won’t have
the electrical performance of Kailash Kher on the song “Babam bam” I was only
up for yet another surprise. Kailash went on to perform the song “Babam bam”
and the crowd was zealous as they danced to the music and lyrics which praised
Ram, Shiv and Parvati! This strengthened my belief that music knows no
boundaries. When the concert was at peek there were demands from the crowd for
“Allah Kay Banday” and Kailash gave them that. However, considering it to be
the last song for the night the crowd stood up to cheer Kailash Kher and all I
could see was the heads stretched across the beach. And the count of the heads
present for the concert looked to be more than 3000. I was brought back to the
concert with Kailash’s voice who said, “You people have stood up, does that
mean I ought to take a leave?” And hearing this every person sat down. Kailash
finally gave the crowd a smashing number “Chak de fatte”. And while the music
still played he backed out and was in his car which took us to the Hotel.
Kailash wanted to escape the crowd but was
greeted by more than 100 people as soon as he entered the hotel. The crowd
present wanted nothing more than his autograph and a photograph. But
considering that we had just been back from the concert we excused ourselves
with the hopes to take some rest. However, Kailash promised them that after few
minutes of tranquility he will call each one of them to his room for the
photographs and he did just that. We had reached the hotel at around 1:30 am
but we could catch up with sleep only at around 5:30 am because fans of Kailash
Kher kept pouring in and getting the snaps with Kailash. The swarm of fans
gathered outside the suite had more than 50 to 75 female fans who also invited
us to join them for a party downstairs. Though we declined the offer this
incidence only made us feel how little had we thought about the independence of
women in this country. Some high profile guests of the hotel also met up with
Kailash Kher with the view of doing such gigs across different parts of Pakistan.
Kailash Kher was offered to perform jointly with Rahat Fateh Ali Khan in a show
which will take place in Dubai and Pakistan. Though Kailash Kher agreed for the
show but the details discussion is yet to take place.
As the crowd slowly started making their
way out of the room we were relieved and caught up with sleep.
Next
day we woke up at around 10:30 and were packed and ready for the flight which
we would be leaving at 3:30 pm. We had to leave the hotel by 1:00 and our lunch
for the day was organized by the superintendent of police (crime Branch) Asif
Usman .The food ordered had varieties of
veg and non-veg cuisine, all of which were the best ones in the city.
Over the lunch a conversation broke out which revealed the horrifying side of
this once a silent city. Usman bhai told us about the incident where a truck
loaded with explosives ran into the police headquarters, the building collapsed
killing several and injuring many of the police staff. Asif and his colleague
Ikram were amongst the survivors who escaped the incident but with major
injuries.
The
conversation took a mild turn and we expressed our desire to visit the city.
But prompt came reply, “You shouldn’t leave hotel premises for security
reasons. You might feel everything to be normal but here you never know what
might happen. It is often that without the knowledge of the citizens blasts
take place and human bombers are the major cause for this.” He further added
that “Kidnapping and Killing for ransom is not a big deal here!”
When we expressed our desire to meet the
living legend & Ghazal Samrat of Pakistan Mehdi Hassan, for which I had
organized the meeting through my Delhi contacts friend Manmeet Singh, yet the
officials declined to take us there as the area where Mehdi sahib lived was amongst
the most unsafe zones in the city. It saddened us that in spite of being so
close to Mehdi Sahib’s house it felt like we were miles apart. We quickly
finished our meal and ran for the airport.
We reached the airport at around 1:30 pm
but with the influence of SP Asif all the legal formalities were arranged
before we could reach the airport. Touring the cities of Pakistan was indeed
memorable and like Atma Prakash had said we indeed came across more than 300
Hindu & Sindhis staying in Karachi. Most of these Sindhis were having high
post in government offices, some were involved in politics and many of them
were rich businessmen.
This
was just a preview but the real figure of Hindu Sindhis staying in Karachi
extends more than one lakh and the entire country has approximately 20 lakh
Hindu & Sindhis. When asked about their safety we were told that people who
are rich and influential need not worry but for them their only bother might be
the kidnapping which is common sight. And about the poor Hindu they said, “Unka
Allah He Malik hai! However, in spite of many problems and religious difference
we remain a family and if we come across injustice towards poor Hindus we take
a stand for them and support them” Adding to this newly acquired knowledge was
yet another fact that every year around 5 to 10 Such Pakistani Hindu families
shift to India and indian government is quiet liberal in accepting them.
Once at the airport the manager and the
senior staff greeted us and completed the formalities sooner than our expectation.
While we were getting done with the legalities an old gentleman approached me
saying he was retired airport staff. However, when Kailash Kher approached this
man and shook hands with him I was shocked as much as the gentleman was!
Smiling Kailash Kher told the old man that he recognized him. The old gentleman
who was the legendary Pakistani Hockey player Jahangir Bhat , smiled and said,
“It was indeed a surprise that you recognized me. I and my son are great fan of
yours!” Kailash Kher replied that he makes it a point to research about the
country and its people before he visits it and thus is how he came to recognize
Jahangir Bhat. With this small rendezvous our tour of Pakistan got over and we
boarded flight to Mumbai which would pass via Colombo. Once in Colombo the band
members turned to me and said “Harish ji, now you can shout Hindustan Zindabad
as many times as you want!”
Before I thank you for having toured
Pakistan yet again with me, at some point in my article when I mentioned about
Imran Khan, I even mentioned about agencies. Having very little knowledge about
the word I asked those people to decipher it for me and the its meaning still
rings in my ears- ISI!
- Harish Sharma
