Ashish Kaul
“Ye bohot mehnga – This is very expensive” I said, throwing up my arms as the amused, rather horrified dry fruit seller, with dust smeared all over his clothes, on a handcart stared at me.”aap Hindustan se he? – Are you from India?” he responded after gathering himself from my economic onslaught. Yes, I acknowledged. “Hindustani Mehmaan ke liye Sab free hai, Aap sab le jao” he responded in the most meaningful way with a distinct glimmer in his eyes. I knew he meant every single word of his generosity. Human beings are unique and so is love – it cuts across mortal boundaries like nothing else. Khalid Yusuf (name changed) was a friend for life. Khalid left his cart unattended that day in Kabul to escort me deep inside spice markets of Kabul, proudly introducing me as his new found friend from India. A decade and a half later, I am on a journey back in time looking for my own Kabuliwala – I hope he is alive.
“Are you sure this is happening? Yes – I want to go!” was my first reaction when I was asked to visit Afghanistan as no one else wanted to. All through the 50’s and 60’s the Indian film Industry heavily borrowed from Afghanistan. A quintessential “Tum Kya Karti” Pathan used to be a permanent feature.
First welcome came from Mother Nature with a chilling 4 degree centigrade rattling us all but I was quick to acclimatize. We were quickly escorted out of the plane to the exit and there it was, our first brush with humanity and peace in a strife torn country. Camera crews, children and many people greeting us with flowers and adulation. Late Jagjit Singh was clearly the Hero of the moment. Next two days Jagjit Singh was loved, mobbed and photographed a billion times for he appeared to be the God who had descended in Kabul to take all their worries away with his magical voice! We left for the Hotel, Kabul Sarena, in a caravan fully manned by about 16 Commandos. It took a while to sink in that we were state guests.
An incredible civilization beneath barren streets, houses in ruins and dust present a grim reminder of an era gone by, much like Kashmir; two heavens destroyed by hatred and terrorism. The Dinner was attended by almost every important dignitary of the Afghan Government and prominent Afghan nationals. However, I remember that night for a different reason. I got to shake hands with my High school alumni who had made it big – precisely as the President of Afghanistan – Mr. Hamid Karzai. Kabul was indeed a part of my life. They all sang praises for the people of India and the Indian entertainment Industry.
The business was launched but I was getting restless to get out of the hotel and visit the city. I was declined permission on security grounds. Next day, I went around to the back of the hotel where a section of the boundary wall that had fallen to a missile was being rebuilt. I just slipped out. The streets of Kabul were almost like the streets in any remote village in Northern India. Music from Hindi films, posters of Hindi film stars were the most common sight. It was for the first time that I realised the power of Indian entertainment. It was a symbol of joy and ray of hope for the Afghans.
Afghans touch your hearts with their simplicity, smiles and Shereen Choi (local version of Kehwa). All those days I kept on experiencing their love and passion for India and Indian entertainment. One of the journalists with a TV channel told me that he feels uneasy if he doesn’t watch Shahrukh’s Devdas 3 to 4 times a week and then there is this unparalleled pride they have for megastar Amitabh Bachchan who immortalized the Afghan pathan as Badshah Khan in his magnum opus Khuda Gawah. They don’t refer to Amitabh Bachchan as an Indian but as one of their own and regale the stories of his stay in Afghanistan during the shooting of the film.
The Indian entertainment Industry was present in every nook and corner of Kabul. Even Khalid (name changed) the driver of our car was a fan of Indian music and would always have Hindi film songs playing in the car. He even managed to sing quite a few of them amidst the tales he told us about the Taliban and the horrid 6 months he had spent in their captivity.
In one of the pressers the week after that was hosted by the I&B Minister of the Afghan Government we expressed our desire to strengthen the presence of a certain cluster of Channels, offer programmes in Pushto and Dari language and eventually be able to offer local programming through a dedicated channel for Afghanistan. I was also surprised when I was politely briefed in private to abstain from ‘praising’ Pakistani artists. For a change Pakistan was a hated word in an Islamic Country. Afghanistan was limping back to normalcy, it was much mature in its worldly affairs as one could see even condoms being sold in the streets of Kabul, perhaps the first and only Islamic country with such an achievement and then there was, perhaps, the largest ever money changing market on the roadside stretching to a mile. Afghans in torn clothes with heaps of currency notes exchanging dollars and other upwardly mobile currency in a fear free environment without any security. Something like this was unimaginable in India or anywhere else in the world. Then it was the gala that evening in Kabul where Jagjit Singh was to perform at the iconic Kabul Polytechnic’s famous auditorium. Made by Russians, it can accommodate about 2500 people and by God, it had more than that and double the number of people waiting outside willing to pay anything to get inside. I was stunned to see a group of women take centre stage, singing along with him. The penultimate day in Kabul also took me to the great Behzad cinema that used to premiere French and European cinema in the 50’s thru 70’s.
The flight back to Mumbai next day was fun as usual. In those few peaceful moments on the plane, I was proud to be a part of this great Nation and have been here among the people who have lived in man-made hell for decades and yet not forgotten to smile. I also kept weighing how different would the geo-political situation be for the troika of India, Pakistan and Afghanistan had Rajiv Gandhi supported Gulbadeen Hikmatyaar in forming Government in Kabul in the 80’s. He had assured Rajiv that he would in turn, ensure that no foreign /Afghan terrorist would venture into Kashmir. It was eventually the Afghan terrorists who unleashed the first terror wave in Kashmir in 1989 / 90. Having said that, it is in such great lands that one feels ashamed to abuse the freedom that we have in India. Personally, I have felt this way before when we lost the right to live peacefully back home in Kashmir and Kabul brought back all those memories and above all a reassurance of my personal belief – Peace shall win one day.
(The author is a business leader, media veteran)
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