अपनी मिट्टी दि खुषबु

Courtesy - IndianExpress

Some pictures need to see from certain distance to understand exact meaning out of it. Something similar happened to South Asian who visited Europe in recent past. 

Jet Airways flight 9W122 landed me at Heathrow, London airport. A cool breeze made me to head towards taxi before I freeze. After few miles of drive out of London, a taxi driver asked me about my whereabouts. I shared a quick journey from India I did so far. As I mentioned that I belongs to India, I found a taxi driver so happily said he belongs to Pakistan. As he was about to say something more about himself, I interrupted and said, but you were Indian and now turned Pakistani, resulting both busted in the laughter. He nodded and said yes, his grandfather belongs to Utter Pradesh and had only chance to visit India in his childhood. He seemed around age of 45. He shared his schooling in Pakistan and his journey to London at his early 20's. After spending more than 20 years in UK, he confessed that 'अपनी मिट्टी दि खुषबु ही अलग है' meaning 'No country equals feeling of being at motherland'.

The sudden comment on feeling of motherland shivered me more than freezing weather outside. While our conversation during hour long journey, I lived his 45 years through his share of experience. Till then, we reached at famous conversation on bitter relation of Indo-Pak. Meanwhile we reached at hotel when he said, 'How many wars we (Indo-Pak) had as we are still fighting with each other which has no end. Visit European countries, they had two world wars and still they are together as Europe Union!!!'