It has been a long six months since the Building Peace Project was launched. But, it is with particular shame that I admit to zilch contribution from my side, so far. Power cuts, poor Wi-fi connectivity and clashing schedules have been major hurdles, as also, the edgy reluctance on my part to put pen to paper (or is it, fingers to keyboard?), which have kept this space woefully empty. Empty, of course, excluding Salma's obstinate efforts at carrying the blog forward.

                 Having now confessed to past sins of inertia, I must acquaint the Reader with the two halves of this blog: Salma and I. I am Rouble. Born in Calcutta, the former capital of British India, twenty years old, and currently a pugnacious law student. Salma has already made a foray into this blog with her enthusiasm to salvage it, so she probably does not require an introduction. But, humour me, will you? I have the aching compulsion to introduce her from my perspective. 

                                  Salma... Salma... Salma! She is 25 years old. She is from a small town in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. She has a Masters degree in Chemistry. She has volunteered for a multitude of social causes. She presently works as the Monitoring and Evaluation Officer of Government Schools for girls. She defies stereotypical assumptions. She is an inspiration.

                                                Salma and I became aware of each other's existence back in February this year, and since then, our worlds have grown to accommodate the steady, blossoming bond rooted in mutual respect, affection and understanding. Apprehension of opening up to a person of seemingly polar culture, and the expectation of an awkward process of familiarising myself with my project-partner through the virtual world, were nagging weights in my often socially inept psyche. Yet, we began talking. And, that is all our little seed of friendship needed to germinate into definite camaraderie. We hit the moment C.S. Lewis was talking about, when he said, "Friendship is born at that moment when one man says to another: "What! You too? I though that no one but myself... " "

                   We talked about the books we read, the ideals we follow, the hopes we have. Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the simple idea of goodness, and a world for all, were all found to be common ground. Both our mothers were conspiratorially laughed at for chiding us, in vain, to tidy our hair before video-conferencing. Feckless electricity supply systems in both countries were cursed at when our Skype sessions were disrupted. The newly-elected Prime Ministers of both nations were resolutely scrutinised. The problems of illiteracy and poverty plaguing our countries were lamented over. Hopes of a better tomorrow and ambitions of being harbingers of change were gushed about. Thus, Salma and I found common ground. A Pakistani and a 'Hindusthani' found common ground.

Our first video conference

When our other counterparts are crossing the borders me and my partner Rouble are going hard through sudden power cut-offs and weak internet connections but none of this has ever affected our passion for the cause we both have motivated ourselves into. We do contact on daily basis via Whats app, Facebook and had our meeting via Skyp, which had this best part,  I felt nothing strange when it was our first conference, like we both have been bullied by our mothers for cutting hairs, and even we shared the same ambition in future as well, we were into “Love in the time of Cholera” and we realized how basically we both have potentials as well as our weaknesses as nation instead of that deterrence, nuclear power and all that stuff we both as Awam, Jantaa and common people suffers the same maladies; the energy crises, weaker connectivity, this strange look I face on the faces of my acquaintances  when I tell them that I’m into such project, then they start questioning my loyalty for my country and the strength of my faith, and they advice me to avoid being so influenced by all this and I deeper in my heart think oh you don’t know what we share, we share the same, there is nothing different, the  best thing That I liked about both of us is this when  she talks I listen and when I talk she listens, even though our faiths, ideas and looking into things  are somewhere even  different, but we listen to it with patience, mutual respect and we look for the part which can connect us and not differ us and that’s what I think our people and our leaders should learn for progress and prosperity.

Our little story

In children’s story book a famous story says once there was a city on fire. There was chaos and panic. Everybody was running. They were leaving the city to save their lives, when meanwhile a little bird was carrying some water to the burning city, all of the birds were mocking and making fun of the little bird, they said when everyone is trying to leave the city how do you think your little water can save it, and the bird replied I’m doing it so that I won’t regret tomorrow that my city was burning and I couldn’t help it. I couldn’t play my role. Pakistan and India, the two mighty nations of the subcontinent if are not on the fire but they are at least nearer to that.  Whether the lack of sincerity from the leadership or the lack of understanding of the masses, whatever the reason is, they have had more than a century to live with prejudice and animosity. .It is when more people are threatened and fear is injected to them a large army is formed and we both nations have huge number of people “ready to fight”.

As both nations are progressing in education people are getting smarter to be cheated. Living in a family under the same roof we fight with our brothers and sisters. We yell at them, we hit them but deep inside us we also know that we are one. We share the same blood and whatever we do to each other we cannot be separated.  The same thing goes with these two nations. When there is a cricket match we want Pakistan to beat India but when India is playing against any other nation all Pakistani becomes Indian fans. Then there prayers goes with Indian team.

Building peace project by Red Elephant Foundation, may be not known to many. most of the people may have not heard of it but it is an initiative that is determined to work like that little bird. It is an initiative to start dialogue and getting to know each other from a very common ground. There are 20 people so far under this project but how great it will be when this number reaches to hundreds and thousands. Because by neglecting the differences and acknowledging humanity and that common spirit which made us to live for more than hundred years on the same land can bring peace and harmony to our people