advertisement
Editor: Harpal Singh Rawat, Pawan Kumar
Senior Editor: Shelly Walia
(This story was first published on 21 July 2022. It has been republished from The Quint's archives to mark India's 76th Independence Day anniversary.)
Ninety-year-old Reena Verma's 75-year wait came to an end on 16 July 2022, as she crossed the Attari-Wagah border to revisit her childhood home in Pakistan's Rawalpindi. Her family had sent a 15-year-old Reena and her siblings to Solan in March 1947 – just a few months ahead of the partition.
At that time, neither her, nor her family had imagined that they would never return home.
Living by herself in Pune, she took a walk down memory lane, ahead of her much-awaited trip to Rawalpindi.
Reena grew up as 'Toshi,' with three sisters and two brothers – in a mixed-culture environment, music of Talat Mahmood, and lots of books. Her father was in government services and the family spent their summer holidays in Mari, a hill station now in Pakistan, and winter holidays in Lahore.
But the partition changed a lot for families like Toshi's. While she and her siblings were sent to Solan in March 1947, her parents joined them in July.
"Riots started in February-March 1947. People were quite scared. Seniors knew that something was going to happen. We were kids, so we did not know. On our road, everybody used to be ready all the time. Turn by turn, at night also, people used to be on watch duty," Verma told The Quint.
Partition also meant that it took their family time to come to terms with the fact that they would never return to Rawalpindi – their homeland.
"Because my brother was in the army, we got lodging. That is why I say we did not face horrific conditions that many others did. But my studies were heavily affected. I had finished my metric there. Therefore, at least I finished school. However, in 1946 I did my metric and after that in 1956, I graduated college," Verma recalled.
Despite everything that her family went through, she had no hatred for anyone – because she was never told that "certain people were bad."
"When Pakistan was established, despite everything we went through as a family, I was told that people are not bad. Whatever situation comes you must handle it as it is," she said.
It was also the people of Pakistan, who made the trip possible for her.
Ever since she came to India, Toshi wanted to visit Pakistan. She made attempts several times, including in 1965, almost two decades after she arrived in India, when she got a special India-Pakistan passport but did not take the trip due to personal reasons.
In 2022, she joined the India-Pakistan Heritage Club – a group on Facebook – and posted about her desire to find her ancestral home.
She immediately applied for a visa, but it was rejected in March 2022. She, however, did not lose hope. In May this year, the Pakistan High Commission in India issued a three-month visa to the nonagenarian after a video story of Reena Verma, done by the Independent Urdu, went viral on social media.
"I have the courage to travel all alone to Pakistan in this age, because the people there have shown me so much love. I genuinely feel like I am going back home," Verma told The Quint.
When she crossed the Attari-Wagah border on 16 July, members of the Facebook group not only welcomed her, but travelled with her to Rawalpindi, to help the 90-year-old relive old memories, and create new ones.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)