LAHORE, March 23: Most of the Indians who arrived here on Tuesday evening to see the One-dayer between Pakistan and India on Wednesday, say they are more interested in exploring Lahore than watching cricket.

They told Dawn that the visa was very short and there was little time left to see Lahore. Ashish Sharma, a mechanical engineer from Ahmadabad, said the cricket match was an excuse to visit Lahore. "I have read a lot about Lahore, the Fort, Anarkali, food streets, and above all the Lahorites. I want to see all this but I have just two days."

Mr Sharma, who was accompanied by his father, said it was their first visit of Lahore. "Though we have no relations in Lahore or in Pakistan, my grandfather used to come here for business before partition," he said.

"As we used to hear a phrase more often that 'he who has not seen Lahore, has not been born,' we are here to be born again." The elder Sharma, who had retired as managing director of the Water Resource Development Corporation, said they were planning to see the second innings of the match on Wednesday and use more time to see Lahore. "We reached here on Tuesday evening and supposed to return on Thursday evening," he regretted.

He said they felt no stranger in Lahore as everything, including dresses, culture and language, were the same. "Even the rickshaw drivers here zigzag and apply brakes suddenly as they do in India," he commented smilingly.

They said they were little worried about the law and order situation before coming to Lahore but their misconceptions had been removed. "We will surely tell everyone in India that Lahore is a lovely city and Lahorites are very hospitable."

They said Pakistan's customs and immigration staff welcomed them with open arms, offered tea and completed process within no time. They also said it was high time to resolve all differences and live in peace because wars lead nations nowhere but to devastation. Saying that the political leadership should not use this peace process for their petty political gains but let it continue at people-to-people level.

Three friends from Ludhiana, Anil Kumar Jain, Brinder and Rishup, said they had come to see Lahore. Mr Jain said they had not much interest in cricket but in Lahore. "We will see Lahore's different historical and famous spots, enjoy food and meet Lahorites," he added.

"Though we have no relations in Lahore, we have come here to be 'born again' as a common saying about Lahore says." Some other visitors, including Virender Singh and Joginder Singh, also expressed the same feelings. They all complained that the visa was short.

Meanwhile, the city hotels located on Abbot Road, around railway station and other areas have been charging a bit higher from their Indian guests. Their management, however, say there was no rush of Indians as only 1,000 or 2,000 visas had been issued. "More than half of our rooms are still vacant. Even the room occupation by Indians was around 20 per cent only," they said.