A warm summer morning and I was sitting to do Reiki healing for a patient when my phone started ringing. My mind engrossed in healing I answered tha call unthinkingly. A gentleman spoke to me in Hindi and asked me if I could speak to him in Sindhi, my mother tongue. Without any hesitation I spoke to him in Sindhi and he told me that he had come from Pakistan and had been looking for sindhi speaking people and finally got my contact from some source.

A few questions and answers from both ends and a few messages exchanged resulted in my fixing up a meeting with him the following evening along with few members from the community. I had already specified to him that we were a Hindu organization and him being a Muslim we shall not indulge in religion talk and he agreed.

It was an insightful meeting over dinner as we heard the sindhi aspect of both ends and how culture and language united us despite the borders of religion and countries. Since Memon was a journalist and news reader, a writer he was keen on clicking pictures and videos of this meeting which we learnt was televised on their news channel and also made it o the newspaper in his country.

A chance meeting created a memory and he assured all the members of our organization that whenever any of us wanted to visit Pakistan, he shall assist with Visa, accommodation and a lot more.

Monica Gokaldas