God forbid if there is an emergency at your home, whom will you approach first?
Relatives?
Friends?
Neighbours?
Yes! You are absolutely right. Neighbours!
You cannot deny the existence of a neighbour as everyone in the world has at least one neighbour but in the rat race of fame and success these days, we are probably ignoring their importance.
I thank my stars for being born and brought up in India where neighbours are still considered the vital part of our social life. They are the first to be approached in times of sorrow, happiness or any emergency situation due to their proximity. Neighbours, if you are blessed with the good ones, can make your life smooth in the neighbourhood and if you are cursed with the bad ones, you might have to be patient with them or just try to ignore their existence which is quite arduous.
I have neighbour's bliss in Toronto as well. Last year, when we moved to our new house, the ‘desi’ instinct in me was inquisitive to know who would be our new neighbours. We were excited to know that our neighbours were from Pakistan and they were equally excited to know it too. Our attitude towards our neighbours should not change irrespective of their background and this wisdom has been bestowed upon us by our very own multi-cultural and diverse country, India.
A good neighbour is a priceless treasure. Chinese ProverbFrom cricket match practices to hitting gym, my husband prefers next door Bhaiya’s company where Bhabhiji tries to make unsuccessful attempts to teach me how to cook properly. We celebrate Eid with them and they celebrate Diwali with us. Their little girl of 3 years is always on lookout for her favourite uncle and auntie when she gets the glimpse of us from her glass window. We chat hours about Bollywood movies and soap operas.Watching India-Pakistan cricket matches together is the best part of our neighbourhood friendship when Bhabhiji displays the best of her cooking skills and I tend to babysit her younger daughter of 3 months.
In general, neighbours are always inspirational. In today’s world, where we have nuclear families, children get opportunities to learn from neighbours. We learn from each other’s experiences.There are lots of misconceptions about different faiths. Living together in the same neighbourhood erases the cultural barriers and opens the path of building a better community around us which is free of prejudices and hatred.
I read an article the other day by Aarefa Johari, a Mumbai-based journalist where she described her hospitality by Pakistanis while she was at a conference in Islamabad. You can read the article here.
There is so much hype and animosity against Pakistani people perpetuated by media and government agencies that has poisoned our minds. Every society has good and bad people. Let’s not generalize group of people and just like a good neighbour live in peace and harmony. Let’s forget about appearances, backgrounds and any other prejudices which affect our relationship with people living close to us. It does not take a big effort from all of us in creating such a harmonious and peaceful environment around us.
