Click to play videoInternational Border(Jammu): An annual mela, at Baba Chamiyal’s shrine on the Indo-Pak Border in Jammu, attracts huge crowds this time of the year.
At this mela, senior officers of India and Pakistan's border security forces exchange greetings and gifts at the shrine.
Baba Chamiyal was a local religious leader revered both by Indians and Pakistanis.
As per tradition, the Pakistani Rangers cross over to the Indian side to offer exquisitely crafted rugs at the shrine.
“Like every house has an representative, we represent the entire nation. This rug is a symbol of devotion of the people of Pakistan,” says Pakistan Rangers Lieutenant Colonel, Waqar.
In return, the Pakistani soldiers take away truckloads of soil and water from the shrine premises. The soil is called shakkar and the water is called sharbat.
Believers attribute miraculous healing properties to shakkar and sharbat.
BSF Deputy Inspector General, GS Vig says “It is a good occasion. We know it for real that Pakistan looks forward to take shakkar and sharbat from this side. There are 30-40,000 people who are waiting on the other side for this.”
Since the ceasefire in 2003, the number of people arriving for the mela has considerably increased.
Hopefully this tradition will see more visits from across the border in the coming times.
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