A Glass of Ber

by Vidushi Kumar (India)

Making a local connection India

A little while ago I was transferring a stash of photos from my phone to my computer. As hundred-some pictures flashed by on the screen, I found myself reliving the full panoply of emotions from memories of our last family trip to Shillong, Meghalaya just two months before my sister's wedding. Back then I wanted to amass all our time together as I was quite skeptical thinking that distance and barriers would split me and my sister into two separate units living two separate lives. But our short trip made me realize that despite this, we can continue to feel as one as we would be miles apart but always connected through our hearts. While I was going through the pictures, one of the picture which caught my eye was a glass of 'Ber' (Indian Plum) which we had bought from the shores of Dawki River separating India and Bangladesh. It was quite astonishing to see how the two countries have created their border with a thick rope starting from the shore passing through the water and eventually losing its sight in the water. As we were quite astounded to behold such a sight, we decided to walk towards the thick rope to see through the Indo-Bangla border. While we were walking towards the border we saw brigade of Indian soldiers safeguarding the border yet concurrently spreading fraternity by permitting tourists to relive the cultural togetherness which existed before partition and allowing vendors to sell palatable products across the border. After walking for a considerable length when we reached the border, the vendors from the other side of the rope ( that is the Bangladeshi Vendors) altercating tourists to draw their attention to the glass of ber and other palatable products that they were selling seemed so idiosyncratic and alluring concomitantly. While we were looking around and interacting with the vendors about how much they sell everyday, a man named Akram approached requesting us to try the glass of ber saying 'aap bhi Hindustani aur mein bhi Hindustani.......kya mere ber nahi khaaogey, sirf 100 rupee ka glass hai'. (You are an Indian, I'm an Indian....... won't you try my ber, the glass is only for Rs 100). Hearing this we were quite perplexed and confused. Seeing the bewildered look on our face he replied that 'before partition there was no Bangladesh and we were one community who share a common past and even now whilst being a separate nation we shouldn't forget our real roots' and proffered the glass of ber to us. He was corroborating his point by saying that 'the feelings of oneness still exist irrespective of caste, creed, race, gender etc. and we are still one big family. There is only one caste, the caste of humanity. There is only one religion, the religion of love. There is only one God, the omnipresent. There is only one language, the language of heart'. Isn't it strange that such a distinctive idea of brotherhood was put forward by an illiterate man? Even biggest intellectuals of the world haven't come out with such an idea of companionship. His words had a stupendous impact on us and other fifty people who were hearing our conversation with him. That day I realized that there is one humanity. There is one brotherhood. Man-made barriers should remorselessly be broken down. Then alone there will be peace in the world. Let's leave petty mindedness and let's expand, evolve and develop large heartedness. Kudos to the Indian soldiers who had clearly shown that India has been adhering to the feeling of oneness, companionship as the core principal of living in harmony with all beings created by the omnipotent. 'Atithi Devo Bhava' (treating guests as God) is just an extension of this philosophy of oneness. I hope Akram is still spreading his idea of oneness among other tourists and not just Indians at the shore of Dawki River like he was doing three years back. If you are visiting Shillong then don't miss out the shore of Dawki River and do witness the rich amalgamation of Indo-Bangla border humanity along with a glass of luscious ber!