Dream come true: 90-year-old Indian woman visits her Pak home, gets emotional

International

pti-Deepika S

Islamabad,
July
22:
90-year-old
Reena
Varma
recalled
her
childhood
as
she
stood
on
the
balcony
of
what
was
her
family’s
home
75
years
ago.

Varma’s
long-cherished
dream
of
visiting
her
ancestral
home
in
Rawalpindi
materialised
when
Pakistan
granted
her
a
three-month
visa
and
she
arrived
in
Lahore
on
July
16
via
the
Wagah-Attari
border.

On
reaching
Prem
Nawas
Mahalla
on
Wednesday,
the
residents
in
the
neighbourhood
gave
her
a
rousing
welcome.
Drums
were
played
and
flower
petals
were
showered
on
her.
Varma
could
not
control
herself
and
kept
dancing.

Varma,
who
left
for
India
when
she
was
only
15,
went
to
every
room
on
the
second
floor
of
her
ancestral
home
and
refreshed
her
memories.
She
sang
while
standing
on
the
balcony
and
cried
remembering
her
childhood.

Varma
said
that
she
did
not
feel
she
was
from
another
country,
the
Pakistani
media
on
Thursday
quoted
her
as
saying.

“The
people
living
on
both
sides
of
the
border
love
each
other
very
much
and
we
should
remain
as
one,”
she
said.

She
kept
looking
at
the
door
and
wall
of
the
house
including
her
bedroom,
yard
and
sitting
room
for
a
long
time.
She
talked
about
her
life
back
in
those
days.

She
told
neighbours
that
she
used
to
stand
on
the
balcony
and
hum
when
she
was
little.

She
sang
the
same
75-year-old
tune
to
reminisce
about
her
childhood
and
cried.
She
said
that
the
memories
of
the
house
were
palpable
to
her.

Varma
has
vivid
memories
of
the
day
she
and
her
family
left
their
house.

Her
family
was
among
the
millions
whose
lives
were
thrown
into
turmoil
by
the
Partition
of
India
into
two
states
in
1947.

“When
someone
got
married,
all
the
children
of
the
street,
including
me,
used
to
run
and
there
was
happiness
everywhere,”
The
Express
Tribune
newspaper
quoted
her
as
saying.

“Now,
once
again,
the
heart
wishes
to
remove
the
hatred
between
Pakistan
and
India
and
start
living
together
again,”
she
said.

She
urged
both
countries
to
ease
their
visa
regimes
to
enable
people
to
meet
frequently,
the
Dawn
newspaper
reported.

“I
would
urge
the
new
generation
to
work
together
and
make
things
easy,”
she
said,
adding
that
humanity
was
above
everything
and
all
religions
taught
humanity.

“Everyone
was
sad
at
that
time
when
we
left.
Neighbours
were
considered
members
of
the
household
and
we
would
visit
everyone’s
house,”
she
said,
adding
that
those
were
very
good
days.
Varma
said
that
all
the
people
of
her
age
have
died.

The
grandchildren
of
their
old
neighbours
now
live
in
the
house
where
she
and
her
family
lived.
“But
the
wall
has
not
been
changed
even
today,”
she
said.

“Friends
and
food
here
are
still
fresh
in
my
mind.
Even
today,
the
smell
of
these
streets
brings
back
old
memories.
I
did
not
even
imagine
that
I
would
ever
come
back
here
in
life.
Our
culture
is
one.
We
are
the
same
people.
We
all
want
to
meet
each
other.
A
local
person
found
me
and
sponsored
a
visa
after
which
I
reached
Rawalpindi
through
the
Wagah
border,”
she
said.

She
said
the
only
thing
which
made
her
sad
was
that
no
one
from
her
family
of
eight
was
alive
to
share
her
joy.

“I
am
very
happy
to
see
that
the
house
stood
intact;
even
the
fireplace
is
still
in
functioning
condition,”
she
said,
adding
that,
“during
holidays
in
winters
we
used
to
burn
wood
for
heating”.

“We
plan
to
visit
Murree
in
the
coming
days
–
I
remember
we
used
to
go
there
every
summer,”
she
said.

Since
her
brother
was
in
the
British
Army,
the
family
moved
to
Pune
after
1947
where
he
was
posted,
but
the
family
did
not
take
any
property
in
a
claim
against
the
Rawalpindi
house.

“My
mother
always
wanted
to
have
this
house,
and
she
maintained
that
if
we
take
any
other
house,
our
right
to
this
house
would
be
lost,”
she
said,
adding
that,
“things
have
changed
but
the
love
and
affection
showered
by
the
people
of
Pakistan
will
remain
in
my
heart
forever”.

At
one
point,
Varma
burst
into
laughter
over
being
unable
to
climb
a
staircase
without
support,
saying
she
had
once
tackled
it
“like
a
bird”
countless
times
a
day.

“I
love
Pakistan
dearly
and
want
to
visit
Pakistan
again
and
again,”
she
said.

Videos
of
her
visit
were
posted
online
and
some
netizens
called
it
an
Indo-Pak
dream
come
true.
One
Twitter
user
was
impressed
by
Varma’s
message
of
peace
and
thinks
if
acted
upon,
it
would
be
the
path
to
success
for
both
neighbours.

with
PTI
inputs