LAHORE, March 21: "We love peace" was the message from the large number of the Indian fans who arrived in Lahore to follow the fortunes of their national team. Watching from the Kardar Enclosure where most of them were accommodated, the fans held a huge banner proclaiming what they loved.
With their flag-waving they brought colour to the game and together with the home supporters who sat with them in the same enclosure, they seemed to prove their love for peace. Who said Pakistan and India were bitter rivals?
A recent thaw in relations is slowly but surely changing the way things stood only a year ago when both countries stood on the brink of war. This full tour of the Indian team, their first in more than 14 years, had appeared in doubt some month ago, first because the Indian government seemed reluctant to give clearance and when they did, there were concerns over security.
But watching the rival fans mixing with each other in the stands of Qadhafi Stadium on Sunday went to show that they love the game as much as they love each other. That's people to people contact that wasn't being allowed previously.
It is not in the stands alone that this harmony is on display. A large corps of journalists from India seems perfectly at ease working alongside their Pakistani counterparts, as they talk about what it means to them to be covering cricket here. "I am being a part of history, part of a process that means a lot to people on both sides of the border," said Sidharth Datta, a senior correspondent of Star News.
For Meenakshi Rao senior editor of The Pioneer, being in Pakistan is quite an experience. "Pakistani hospitality is just unbelievable. Many misconceptions about the people on our side of the border have gone for good," she said.
It is cricket that has brought them all together and this Friendship Series has shown that solutions to the long-standing problems are to be found on the cricket pitch, not elsewhere.
Our Sports Correspondent adds: Around 2000 Indian citizens, mainly from New Delhi, have arrived in Lahore to see the matches. All is going well here and we are enjoying our stay here", said Ravi Malhothra who came with his family, while waiting in a queue to get into the Imran Khan enclosure.
But Ravi said that he had problems in getting his ticket for the match which he had booked online. "Soon after reaching Lahore I went to the Qadhafi Stadium to get my ticket, but I was told that I will get it from a local hotel.
" The instruction about this was not printed on my online booking and it would have been better if a complete guided plan had been provided online" , he said. The hotel where the online tickets were available was half a kilometer away from the stadium.
Another Indian, Sardar Sarnam Singh, said that he was born at Khanewal and came here for the first time after the partition in 1947. "To be here like a dream," he said.
He complained that hotel charges were too high. "I paid Rs3,000 for a room of an ordinary hotel on Abbot Road. I was informed the rates otherwise were not so high in the area," he said.
Kanwal, accompanying her family, said that she wanted to purchase some articles but was disappointed to find shopping centres closed because of Sunday. "We have to return on Monday as we have four-day visa. But we do wish to extend our stay to see Lahore", she said.
The Indians were looking happy over their stay in Lahore and were of the view that they were feeling as they were in New Delhi. "We have similar faces, culture, eating habits and I recognize the other Indians who are here only by their shirts bearing Indian flag", said Amit Kumar.
The police went out of the way to display courtesy and efficiency to the Indians as they obliged the visitors by allowing them quick entry into the stadium. But for the locals, the police used batons to keep them orderly. There was no manual checking to detect fake tickets at the general enclosures, as was claimed by the organizers.
The Code Bar of some tickets had been damaged as the holders could not keep their tickets straight. The man having computer detector was found declaring tickets as fake instead of handing them over to another person to do the manual checking before finally giving the verdict.
"I bought the ticket from Bank Alfalah branch and how it could be fake", an 18-year old boy whose ticket has been rejected said. "I have been standing in the queue for three hours to wait for my turn and when I was to enter the stadium I was forced to go back," he said.
There was a huge rush at the general enclosures, but surprisingly, various places of the enclosures remained empty and the stands could not be filled completely till end of the match.
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