At a time when political leaders of India and Pakistan have failed in maintaining peace at the border, around 40 students from both the countries participated in a classroom connect programme.
Organised in the spirit of World Cultural Day, the programme was aimed at providing students an opportunity to learn about culture on either side of the border to promote peace.
The session began on a musical note with students from Lahore’s Amman kids club singing ‘Dosti aisa naata’ for their peers across the border. Indian students responded with the famous “Ye dosti hum nahi todenge”.
Later, a participant from Lahore, Safina recited a beautiful poem and Atishi from Surat narrated a story. The students also spoke about their culture, festivals and traditions, cricket, Bollywood, TV serials, among other things.
The atmosphere became merrier when Mohsin Hashmi, one of the directors of Amman Pukar, recited a poem named “Sweetheart” for the Indian students. This was followed by Sahil from Indian side reciting a poem “Hamara desh ek classroom”.
Interestingly, the co-ordinators also explored their ancestry and found that Indian co-ordinator Sagar’s forefathers lived in Layalpur (Faislabad) before partition, while Pakistan’s Asifa’s grandparents belonged to Amritsar and Jalandhar.
Sagar hoped that the programme will help the young minds build their own opinions, free from bias. The volunteers were overwhelmed as students and parents thanked them for the initiative.
It was organised by Aaghaz-e-Dosti, which is working towards bringing peace between the two nations. They are planning to organise more events in the future.