A reunion after 65 years

It was a sea of emotion that flowed when 71-year-old Farid Ahmad of Alafwal village in Lahore came to Rode village. After all, he was meeting his two brothers after a long gap of 65 years.

It was a sea of emotion that flowed when 71-year-old Farid Ahmad of Alafwal village in Lahore came to Rode village. After all, he was meeting his two brothers after a long gap of 65 years.

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"When Partition happened, I was six years old and studying at a madrasa. As soon as the communal riots began, we left India. However, my uncle and younger brothers could not go with my father Bhannu to Pakistan," recalled Ahmed. "So, when my brothers, Jarnail and Binder, found a strange and aged visitor at their door, it took them a while to recognize their own brother," he added.

Prior to this visit, Ahmed made many attempts to visit his brothers, but the hostile relations between India and Pakistan always proved to be an obstacle. "I applied for a visa to India four times during the last 40 years, but every time the Indian embassy rejected my application.

I have been speaking to my brothers over the phone, but when I got the visa last week, I was so desperate to reach Rode that I could not inform anyone about my visit," an emotional Ahmed said.