Encounter with Pakistanis in a foreign land

I have been in Brussels for the past 5 or 6 days now.. As in most of the major foreign cities these days, Brussels has its share of Indians and Pakistanis too.. with Pakistanis pre-dominantly in the shop business, owning small shops that remain open till a long time in the night, unlike the other shops that close by 6.

After the first day struggle with finding a SIM card for my mobile, trying to find a person who understands English, it was really pleasant meeting a person who looked like an Indian, someone who could speak English as well as Hindi and who actually helped me find a good enough, relatively cheaper card for my mobile. I did not really mind it when I came to know that he is a Pakistani. He was sweet enough to talk to me at length, enquire about me and tell me to ask for help anytime I need it because he is like my "bada bhai"...

The other day I had been to Grand Place, Brussels and incidentally again found myself in need of buying batteries for my camera at the last moment (what with my rechargeable batteries ditching me when I needed them the most!).. To my rescue came another Pakistani, who when he came to know that I am an Indian, gave me a 50 cents off and a plastic bag for my umbrella without even asking for it..

So here I am, an Indian, with two pleasant experiences with Pakistanis.. It is funny how the age-old enmity between the two nations seems to not really matter once you are on foreign land. Out here, at a place which is not home for both of us, we become neighbours, people who both understand and speak Hindi.., people coming from countries which are so alike in more ways than one..