Daily Times

Saurabh Khanna was born in Delhi and was brought up by parents who traced their origins to Chiniot in Punjab. He works for an investment bank and has done his MBA from the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad. His writings passionately centre on the issues of the environment, economic recession, global terrorism and world peace, with special emphasis on Indo-Pak friendship. Tussi Lahore Ton Ho is a memoir of a young Indian IT professional, working in Dublin and London where he is often mistaken to be a Pakistani by people from his own country and the local community living in the UK.

The book touches upon the culture of the Indian subcontinent engrained in the west in the form of mushrooming growth of restaurants, which proudly display the symbols of Mughal architecture like the Taj Mahal. It also talks about the false notions and biased opinions of the desi community considering the Indian woman to be the ideal woman .They supposedly fit into the traditional roles while the European women are considered devious for they are only interested in entrapping a man for his wealth and then ditching him for a wealthier one. At this point of time in the book, the only racism experienced by the writer is from the people belonging to other communities “The only time I have experienced any sort of racism in London is while visiting some of the Indian restaurants. The moment they see an Asian looking family enter their exclusive restaurants; their first reaction is of disappointment. They would rather have a family that orders sparkling water instead of tap water, and is willing to pay exorbitant prices for exotic sounding dishes.”

The comical depiction of landing in London makes the reader smile as there appears to be no difference between Heathrow and Delhi Airport, as almost everyone working at Heathrow is a desi. “Well to start with, the moment I got down at Heathrow, I felt as if the plane had landed back at Delhi! All the ground staff and almost everyone who were there to receive their loved ones looked like Desis” The strong association of the people to their roots manifests in their first question. Tussi Lahore Ton Ho and then walking away as soon as they realise that the person does not belong to their area of origin. “I asked a friendly looking desi the directions for the Heathrow Express. The guy gave me a warm smile and instead of answering my question, asked — “Tussi Lahore ton ho?” When I told him I have no idea what he meant, he just ignored me and went away!” This attitude is not restricted to the airport alone but is a common question and reaction encountered by the writer wherever he travelled in London.

The issue of economic hardships that people go through every day while living in the UK is compounded when the writer’s wife Rupali joins him and they struggle to meet everyday expenses by exploring various promotional offers to save money. The situation becomes opposite to that of Delhi where one does not have to think twice before spending money. The worst one can do in this situation is to start converting the British pound into the local currency of one’s native land, thus ending up in the mental trauma of ending up not buying anything at all.

However, things take a turn for the worse after the London bombings of 7/7/2005. The tension aggravates as the racially-motivated attacks take place against the Asian immigrants all across the country seeking revenge for the tragic deaths, killing many people. There was a collective anger against the ‘outsiders’. Everything changed between ‘yesterday’ and ‘today’ as the couple encounters suspicious looks and stares wherever they go. “Looking like a Pakistani couple during those days was bad enough and the presence of rucksack was only making matters worse.” The act of a few culminated in a very high price to be paid by innocent hardworking people earning their livelihoods in a distant land. The climax reaches its zenith when the couple is about to leave for their homeland and are harassed by policemen pointing guns at them for having committed the sin of asking directions from a security guard.

The book raises the most pertinent issue that the world we live in today is fundamentally a different place now than what it used to be. The world has been divided into ‘us’ vs ‘them’, where the issue of the clash of civilisations crops up. However, things seem to be changing now as the realisation dawns that the forces of terror neither know any religion nor are they bound by any sense of nationality. This sense of shared threat has brought communities and countries together. The writer raises very pertinent questions when he writes, “Will the world continue to be united and prevail over these threats? Will the differences resurface once the threat is gone? Will the people of Pakistan and India continue to build bridges between the two countries in face of powerful forces on both sides who oppose this?” This has been left to time.

This book explores the trials and tribulations of being a ‘Pakistani’ in a culture that is increasingly getting suspicious of Islam and ends on a hopeful note that one day the world will be together in fighting these threats of our generation and existence. The author has been able to depict the experiences in an open and warm way that everyone can relate to and understand.

The reviewer is a social activist and blogs at http://drirfanzafar.com. He can be reached atdrirfanzafar@gmail.com