Best of enemies 

It’s only within the confines of the subcontinent that Pakistan and India engage in conflict 

No, no, please! How can I accept money from you? This is my home and you are a guest here. I can’t take money from a guest.

The speaker was a Washington DC taxi driver, a middle-aged migrant from Lahore who had settled in US years ago. Bunny and I had been to one of the Smithsonian museums, those wonderful repositories of art and culture that are a hallmark of the city.

When we emerged, there was a thunderstorm with torrential rain. We were lucky to get a cab that was dropping off a museum visitor. The cab driver asked where we were from, and when we said India, with a beaming smile he switched from English to Urdu.

During the 20-minute ride, we talked about each other’s families, where we lived, what his grown-up children did. There was no mention of Kashmir, or Partition, or something called a two-nation theory.

We were chance-met strangers with common roots encountering each other in a foreign land. It took all my powers of persuasion to get our new-found friend to accept the taxi fare. And from him, we received heartfelt blessings for our well-being.

In the picture-postcard Italian town of Polignano, upon hearing that we were Indian, a young Pakistani waiter confided in us his future plans, including finding a bride back home, with the emotional intimacy of a family member.

It happens time and again, for many of us who meet Pakistanis abroad. Never have so-called foes been friendlier, going out of their way to be of help, striking some deep chord of fellowship that belies a history of bitter conflict.

It is only within the subcontinent that the two countries are entrenched adversaries. The mutual antagonism inflamed by the shrill bellicosity of vicarious warriors who exhort others to do the fighting for them, and for whom the word ‘peace’ is another word for ‘treason’.

Taken out of this geographic and political context, mutual animus transforms into a shared amity. That’s the enigma that binds together the best of enemies.