Free Love Across Borders by Naheed Hassan, Sabahat Muhammad

living in small towns would invite them home, feed them
and give them a place to spend the night. Dilip smiled at the
memory. He would never forget that road trip.
    At last, after a graduation ceremony they
attended by themselves, they packed their bags and booked their
tickets.
    “Pervez, you better stay in touch and write. I
know you—you’re useless without me. You wouldn’t even have written
once to your parents if I hadn’t made you.” Dilip had known better
than to trust his charming but feckless friend.
    “Of course I’ll stay in touch yaar . And
you better not forget to invite me to India.” Pervez had said as he
hugged him goodbye.
    The two of them had managed to keep in touch up
until their professional and social lives engulfed them. Family and
work got in the way of the occasional letters and calls. Dilip then
moved to Delhi and eventually settled there. As the years passed,
occasionally Dilip would catch himself remembering his old friend,
but lacked the will or time to reconnect with him. And now, when he
had all the time in the world, he did not know where to find
him.
    “You’re doing it again. Who do you keep looking
for?” Rohan asked him one day, finding him searching again.
    “A friend.”
    “Where does your friend live?”
    Dilip was quiet for a moment. “Somewhere in
Pakistan. I am not sure though.” It sounded odd not to know where
to look.
    “Pakistan! You have a friend in Pakistan? Papa,
Mummy did you know this? Dada-ji has a friend in Pakistan,”
he called to his parents incredulously.
    Dilip wasn’t surprised. Years of indoctrination
through history books and media and the lack of personal contact
had left the youth of both countries believing they could never be
friends. Not much had changed since 1971.
    As a child, Dilip’s son had heard stories of his
father’s friend but Meeta, his daughter-in-law, was also surprised.
Dilip told them about Pervez, how they became friends and then lost
touch. And now that he had discovered the Internet, how he had
begun searching for his long-lost friend.
    “Let’s find your friend.” Rohan was
enthusiastic.
    “Is that possible?” After months of searching,
Dilip was doubtful.
    “Difficult, but nothing is impossible,” Rohan
grinned with the confidence of the young.
    Over the next few days, Rohan hooked Dilip up to
every social networking site possible—Twitter, Google Plus,
Facebook, My Space, Orkut. Dilip felt a bit overwhelmed—he didn’t
know there were so many sites. But even Rohan, the
social-networking expert, was having trouble finding a Pakistani
who could help them connect with a bigger network. Dilip reflected
a little sadly to himself on how the new generation, despite having
incredible access to information and knowledge, still regarded
their neighbors as aliens and had trouble connecting with them.
    And then on the third day Dilip chanced upon an
online group of Indians and Pakistanis. There were petitions, posts
and comments on a variety of issues relating to India and Pakistan.
Interested, Dilip decided to explore the group. Suddenly a message
caught his eye.
    ‘ I am Pervez Iqbal from Karachi. Looking for
a long-lost friend Dilip Sharma in India. Have no idea where he is
now. His family has moved from their family home in Sahranpur. We
spent some wonderful days together in the US and he promised me
that he would invite me to India one day. I am waiting Dilip. Get
in touch with me. Your friend awaits you.’
    Below these lines was a picture of the two of
them during their days in the US. An old, hazy picture, that
brought a flood of memories back to Dilip and a smile to his
face.
    “Rohan, I’ve found him. Come quickly. This is my
friend,” Dilip shouted out, unable to contain his excitement.
    Rohan came rushing out of his room.
    “Is that him? Is that you in the picture with
him? Dada-ji , you look so handsome!” Rohan laughed.
    “Yes, that’s us,” Dilip gently touched the
picture on the computer