Brothers in Arms

Do we ever feel strongly about any social issue unless it affects us directly? I went to protest with my peers when students protested against the Reservation bill. Our presence there was a sign of solidarity with the idea, with the people who were leading the movement. We went to reassure them that we were there to support them. Yet, I lay in bed watching the news when MCD sealed the shops of so many people in Delhi. Their shops were their only source of livelihood, and yet, I was not concerned.


I remember when I visited the 'War Memorial' in Seoul, I went around admiring the realistic reconstruction of war scenes and the Viking style warships, the guns and everything else on display. It was like a pleasure trip for all of us. We visited the souvenir shop and I bought a Korean army Dog Tag (Which was later stolen by the infamous Kleptomaniac of DCE!), and a little medallion with the War Memorial building on one side and a figure of 2 men hugging, on the other.



We went on to have a sumptuous lunch, something I have to write about in detail someday, and moved out of the complex, and started taking pictures. There I noticed a huge statue of the 2 men hugging each other, complete with their accouterments. Won (Our guide, not the currency!) told us that the statue represented a real life incident, wherein during the war between North and South Korea, two brothers from opposite armies met on the battlefield!
Suddenly, the war memorial meant a lot more. I stood and admired the statue, the position of the two men, the way their bodies leaned on each other, as if their knees had given way, their grief apparent by the mere position of their bodies.
The globe on which they stood was cracked from between them, symbolic of their world torn apart. We even caught hold of a little terrified (by us!) kid wearing a 'be the reds' t-shirt, and made him pose with us in front of the statue :) . Apparently, quite a few of us felt the same way about the war between the two parts of Korea. I say this because that night we came back to the university and laid out huge sheets of paper and left messages of peace.


We signed our names, made India's flag, and wrote a peace message in Hindi and in English.

Sometimes you just need to be in the eye of the storm to realize its futility. I felt the same way at Potsdamer Platz in Berlin. The wall obviously wasn't there. Just a slight depression in the ground where it once stood, and panels with photos and descriptions of the time it was there. It's really hard for me to explain, but I'll try. Potsdamer Platz is now a wide open area right in the centre of Berlin's business district. The DB building, all the financial giants, Sony center are all a stones throw away. The Berlin wall divided this area right through the center into half. It would have been like dividing the heart of a city. Train tracks were blocked, the city was divided into half and walled. There was a little ramp onto which people were allowed to climb to see the goings on on the other side beyond the wall. I stood there with one foot on either side of the wall, and took a snap. Then I just strolled around the place feeling the pulse of the city. Among all the cities I visited in Europe, Berlin was the one that was 'Alive'. It was exciting just to be there, just to walk along the streets. Something or the other was always going on.


It felt great just to be able to cross the places where the wall once stood, especially at the Brandenburg Tor. There was also a photo exhibition depicting the Tor after the world war, in a rather debilitated state, and we took snaps there and 'Crossed' the Tor to head toward the Live 8 concert going on between the Siegesäule. Just to think that you would have been shot down if you tried to cross the place 2 decades ago.

The only image of the Berlin wall I ever had before this trip was the one created by the Scorpions music video, "Wind's of change". In the last part of the video, there are images of the Berlin wall being brought down. After I returned from Germany, this song had an entirely new meaning for me. Having talked to people who were present at Potsdamer Platz when the first piece of the Wall crumpled, and also people who hid in their house for days fearing some sort of riots would break out, the Wall was not what it used to be anymore.

Some parts of the world are not as fortunate as Germany though. Back home, I went to watch the gate closing ceremony at Wagah recently, and after the ceremony, people are allowed to walk around the fence, touch the border post, and at one point, Indians and Pakistanis are a couple of feet away, separated only by 2 cords of barbed wire. Its amazing the way you feel looking at people across the divide. There is no ill-will, no enmity, just a weird feeling, like we are caged. They probably felt the same way. I held the gaze of quite a few people, longer than necessary, just to see how their expressions changed, but they didn't. There was no trace of malice in their eyes. They were looking at us in an incredulous manner, just as we were looking at them I'm sure.

We drove back to Amritsar discussing that maybe the aggression apparent in the gate-keepers actions should be toned down a little. There are two sides to the coin as always. At one end, we are trying to spread a feeling of mutual trust and understanding, and this demands that these proceedings be toned down. On the other hand, it is a rather good location and setup to instill feelings of nationalism in people. Gradually, the discussion changed to where our next meal should be. Incidentally, in Amritsar, all you manage to think about is food! Having tried all the street food on offer, and all the famous dhabas, we settled for Crystal, which was recommended by the owner of the Jutti Shop my mum and sister ransacked.




I kept toying with the thought that maybe someday cars will be allowed to cross the Wagah, and we will be able to go to Lahore and eat a better preparation at the Food Street. Someday soon perhaps.

Labels: Food, Life, Politics, Travel