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A train full of nostalgia, excitement

B. Muralidhar Reddy

The Thar Express' first journey saw people throng the route in Pakistan and India.

THE FIRST journey of the Thar Express across the international border to and from India on Saturday was marked by excitement and nostalgia. For the people of the Sindh province in Pakistan, it was an occasion to unwind — let loose pent-up emotions.

It was a sea of humanity all the way — throughout the 380-km route from the port city of Karachi to Munabao in Rajasthan. For those who thronged the tracks, it did not matter that the train passed through in the dead of the night. The people on both sides are delighted over the revival of the link that connects them to their kin across the border. They want to know why it took 40 years to restart the service. They would also like an assurance that it will not be sacrificed yet again at the altar of India-Pakistan tensions.

Supporters of the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) who thronged the decked-up Karachi station on Friday night, hours before the Thar Express was flagged off by the Sindh Governor, set the tone for the journey. India-Pakistan friendship zindabad, border kholo (open the borders), and hume visa do (give us visas) were some of the slogans that rented the air for over two hours.

Such was the frenzy that senior MQM leaders made impromptu speeches assuring the crowd of the early re-opening of the Indian visa consulate in Karachi.

The scene was no different at the Hyderabad station though it was 2 a.m. when the train pulled in. Every inch of platform number one of the sprawling station was occupied. People gathered around the windows to chat up with those privileged to be passengers.

A few wanted to share their memories of pre-Partition India — of relatives and friends left behind. Many asked those on board to thank Atal Bihari Vajpayee or Manmohan Singh on arrival in India. Bollywood fans sent messages for Salman Khan and Aishwarya Rai.

Things looked much the same two-and-a-quarter hours later as the Thar Express entered Mirpur Khas — its last halt en route to zero point through the Sindh desert. As the train crossed the Indian border in the early hours, one could see people lined up in small hamlets across the arid zone though they knew fully well the train would not stop.

Speaking to the passengers on board, 160 in all, was a learning experience. It was clear that the people of both pre- and post-Partition Sindh have been eagerly looking forward to the link for years.

Vasudha Loda, a Hindu woman from Ajmer Sharif, married in 1991 to Shankar Loda of Sindh, Hyderabad, said: "I have two sons. The older is 12 years old and lives in India. I keep visiting him once in two or three years. Thanks to this train, my husband will see his elder son after 10 years. With the Karachi-Mumbai airfare being (Pak.) Rs.19,000, how can anyone afford to travel [frequently]?"

As the Pakistani Rangers lifted the iron gates to let the train into the Indian territory, she exclaimed "it takes but a few minutes to open a gate that remained closed for four decades!"

The 200 or so Sindh journalists were bitter that not one political representative of the federal or the provincial government deemed it necessary to travel on the first train. "In contrast look at the hype on the Punjab side. The people of Sindh are getting a raw deal from the Punjabi dominated establishment," a journalist who did not wish to be identified told this correspondent.

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