It was a great honour for me to be among the eminent persons accompanying our Prime Minister to Lahore and it turned out to be an experience I will never forget. It was the first time that I travelled on a trip like this and each person was a stalwart in his own field. Film artistes, poets, dancers, intellectuals and businessmen, we were all part of this historic journey. This is one bus ticket I will preserve to show my grandchildren. All I can say is that the trip had vision. Whether or not it is a complete success is not the point. The issue is that the effort on both sides is to be appreciated. It was the first time that I have driven into Pakistan. What a feeling one gets at Wagah, when suddenly from the Indian tricolour and our soldiers, you see the Pakistani flag flying in the wind and the sentries and guards saluting you are so different and yet the same. It was the first time that I saw Pakistan as an Indian, as an individual, as my forefathers would have seen it. On previous visits, I was merely a cricketer who thought of nothing but the game. We did a lot of sightseeing and visited the Dera Sahib Gurdwara and Maharaja Ranjit Singh?s samadhi before going to a fabulous banquet hosted by the honourable Nawaz Sharif at the Shahi Qila. It all seemed so unreal to see what was part of our ancestors? home and what is so alien to us. And to add to the mystique and magic in the air, was the presence of Javed Akhtar who translated every visual into a beautiful poem. The banquet, a seven-course sit-down dinner was a sumptuous Mughlai meal of paya, chicken, kababs and a large variety of rotis. The ambience took me to the Mughal era, as we were seated in the majestic lawns of the fort all beautifully lit up. To add to the flavour of the evening both Prime Ministers conversed in shairi. In the middle of all this, a thought struck me. Why couldn?t we live with all our neighbours ? Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Myanmar ? like a well-knit team? If all of us benefited from each other?s surplus produce and opened up trade we would be a force to reckon with. Our aim should be to strengthen our economies with joint hands and forget about Kashmir for the moment. Why carp about a land issue when we have so much to gain from each other in a positive manner? In the city, wherever we went we were welcomed with so much warmth and affection. A Pakistani individual has so much love to offer. Yet, sometimes, why do we feel a sense of hostility from the crowd? Yes, there was a section of people who were not happy (they tried an Eden Gardens on us, but the efficient security ensured that nothing went awry, except for a minor delay in the day?s events!). But my point is that this happens all over, and when the majority is with you, go for it. All through the trip, I felt we were one land and our parents were the generation that felt the love and hate. They left their homes, friends and even families to move on and bore deep scars which were visible to us. We have heard innumerable stories of the Partition from them and have formed opinions and biases over matters and incidents which we have not witnessed. Let?s resolve now, not to pass them on to our children. The scars will lighten until we barely notice them. A line from Shri Vajpayee?s speech touched the core of my heart, when he said: ?Zakhm bhar gayen hain/par nishan nahin jayenge.? We were one land, now we are two. Let?s accept that and get on with it.