Wagah border closing
April 9, 2006
I had heard from many that I should really go see the border closing ceremony at Wagah. Wagah was on the India-Pakistan border, less than an hour away from Lahore. There is an elaborate ceremony every evening to accompany the lowering of the flags and closing of the border gates. Getting there was relatively easy. From in front of my hostel I caught the number 3 bus on The Mall to the train station. From there I caught the number 4 bus to Wagah. The fare was ridiculously cheap, 6 rupees (10¢) and 12 rupees (20¢) to Wagah. Like everything else in Pakistan the busses were gender segregated. The front of the bus was reserved for women, and there was a solid metal wall separating the women’s seating from the men’s.
The bus ride was unremarkable, but it did take me through the outskirts and countryside surrounding Lahore. It was the usual assortment of shoddy looking concrete buildings and rickety shacks, the same, as you will see in any developing country around the world. The car garages were interesting insomuch as the car ramps were just two wide parallel concrete ramps that cars were driven up onto which gave space for a mechanic to get under the car and work, a lot cheaper than a hydraulic lift. Every so often I would see a large painted billboard of a marching band in uniforms that were a very odd mix of traditional Punjabi costume and Scottish tartans.
Turns out the bus did not go all the way to the border. I was dropped at the bus station in what I presume was Wagah. While looking for a ride to the border the bus driver pointed to a van full of Pakistani men who were waiving me over. They were all headed to Wagah and said I should join them for the ride. I took their offer and hopped in the van. The large group were all Pashtuns from Peshawar. They worked for the government doing something I could not figure out, and they were all in Lahore for training. It was a rowdy group who were all laughing and joking, clearly in a holiday mood. One of the guys pulled out a bag of hash which he displayed proudly and said, "Pashtun culture!"
When we got to the actual border we all raced so as not to miss the beginning of the ceremony. There are large grandstands build on both sides of the borders. This is a big spectacle and draws capacity crowds everyday. Typical of Pashtun hospitality, when I went to pay for my ticket, the guys I rode with paid and would not hear of me paying. The grandstands were already full when we got there, but as a foreigner I got special treatment. I had to say good by to the guys I got a ride with as I was ushered forward to special seating for foreigners near the front with good views. Like the bus ride the seating was segregated by gender, the seating on the opposite side from where I was reserved for women.
The ceremony had not started yet, but patriotic songs were being blasted from loudspeakers and there were two cheerleader men in green uniforms carrying large Pakistani flags running up and down working the crowd, getting everyone riled up shouting patriotic slogans. Similar things were going on, on the India side of the border.
This ceremony dates from Partition in 1947. When British India gained its independence in 1947 it immediately split into two countries. It was a painful and bloody divorce, over a million people died in the sectarian violence that accompanied Independence and Partition. Since then Pakistan and India have fought three wars and came close to a fourth war just a few years ago. The border ceremony at Wagah is a peaceful ceremony that symbolizes the strong rivalry between the two countries.
The actual ceremony is just ludicrous. Soldiers from both sides march up and down making these huge silly goose-step marches, lots of dramatic arm waiving, glares, and shouts. It immediately brings to mind that old Monty Python sketch, The Ministry of Silly Walks. The crowd eats it up, and they shout enthusiastically in support of their soldiers. At the end the national flags are lowered in just such a way that one is never lower than the other at anytime. Finally the gates are banged shut and the soldiers march away solemnly carrying the flag of Pakistan, all the while being applauded by the audience.
It was crowded and hectic on the way out after the ceremony. I did not see the Pakistani guys I rode there with, but I did manage to hitch a ride with a Finish family back to Lahore. The father was in Pakistan working for the government highway department and his wife and teenage children had come out to visit. I was very happy to be able to hitch a ride back rather than have to figure out how to get back to Wagah.
I had heard from many that I should really go see the border closing ceremony at Wagah. Wagah was on the India-Pakistan border, less than an hour away from Lahore. There is an elaborate ceremony every evening to accompany the lowering of the flags and closing of the border gates. Getting there was relatively easy. From in front of my hostel I caught the number 3 bus on The Mall to the train station. From there I caught the number 4 bus to Wagah. The fare was ridiculously cheap, 6 rupees (10¢) and 12 rupees (20¢) to Wagah. Like everything else in Pakistan the busses were gender segregated. The front of the bus was reserved for women, and there was a solid metal wall separating the women’s seating from the men’s.
The bus ride was unremarkable, but it did take me through the outskirts and countryside surrounding Lahore. It was the usual assortment of shoddy looking concrete buildings and rickety shacks, the same, as you will see in any developing country around the world. The car garages were interesting insomuch as the car ramps were just two wide parallel concrete ramps that cars were driven up onto which gave space for a mechanic to get under the car and work, a lot cheaper than a hydraulic lift. Every so often I would see a large painted billboard of a marching band in uniforms that were a very odd mix of traditional Punjabi costume and Scottish tartans.
Turns out the bus did not go all the way to the border. I was dropped at the bus station in what I presume was Wagah. While looking for a ride to the border the bus driver pointed to a van full of Pakistani men who were waiving me over. They were all headed to Wagah and said I should join them for the ride. I took their offer and hopped in the van. The large group were all Pashtuns from Peshawar. They worked for the government doing something I could not figure out, and they were all in Lahore for training. It was a rowdy group who were all laughing and joking, clearly in a holiday mood. One of the guys pulled out a bag of hash which he displayed proudly and said, "Pashtun culture!"
When we got to the actual border we all raced so as not to miss the beginning of the ceremony. There are large grandstands build on both sides of the borders. This is a big spectacle and draws capacity crowds everyday. Typical of Pashtun hospitality, when I went to pay for my ticket, the guys I rode with paid and would not hear of me paying. The grandstands were already full when we got there, but as a foreigner I got special treatment. I had to say good by to the guys I got a ride with as I was ushered forward to special seating for foreigners near the front with good views. Like the bus ride the seating was segregated by gender, the seating on the opposite side from where I was reserved for women.
The ceremony had not started yet, but patriotic songs were being blasted from loudspeakers and there were two cheerleader men in green uniforms carrying large Pakistani flags running up and down working the crowd, getting everyone riled up shouting patriotic slogans. Similar things were going on, on the India side of the border.
This ceremony dates from Partition in 1947. When British India gained its independence in 1947 it immediately split into two countries. It was a painful and bloody divorce, over a million people died in the sectarian violence that accompanied Independence and Partition. Since then Pakistan and India have fought three wars and came close to a fourth war just a few years ago. The border ceremony at Wagah is a peaceful ceremony that symbolizes the strong rivalry between the two countries.
The actual ceremony is just ludicrous. Soldiers from both sides march up and down making these huge silly goose-step marches, lots of dramatic arm waiving, glares, and shouts. It immediately brings to mind that old Monty Python sketch, The Ministry of Silly Walks. The crowd eats it up, and they shout enthusiastically in support of their soldiers. At the end the national flags are lowered in just such a way that one is never lower than the other at anytime. Finally the gates are banged shut and the soldiers march away solemnly carrying the flag of Pakistan, all the while being applauded by the audience.
It was crowded and hectic on the way out after the ceremony. I did not see the Pakistani guys I rode there with, but I did manage to hitch a ride with a Finish family back to Lahore. The father was in Pakistan working for the government highway department and his wife and teenage children had come out to visit. I was very happy to be able to hitch a ride back rather than have to figure out how to get back to Wagah.
posted by TravelWriterWannaBe at 9:11 AM
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