ISLAMABAD: Germany-based Pakistani biker and vlogger Abrar Hassan’s fascination with India began while growing up in his hometown, Nankana Sahib, in Pakistan’s Punjab province roughly 100 kilometers away from the Indian border, which is regularly frequented by Sikhs based in the neighboring India for being one of their most revered religious sites.
For the past seven decades, India-Pakistan cross-border visits have been limited by tensions and conflict. After years of traveling around the world, Hassan’s curiosity finally took him to neighboring India in March this year, where he spent a month covering 7,000 kilometers and discovering the South Asian culinary and architectural heritage.
His videos showing his journey through India’s Kochi, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Ajmer, Agra, Delhi, Chandigarh, Amritsar and other cities have garnered millions of views on YouTube, showcasing the love and warmth of people across the border despite tensed relations between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.
In an exclusive interview with Arab News, Hassan said he had many fears before undertaking the trip to India on March 2, but the apprehensions were overcome by the warmth of the people across the border and the richness of the Indian street food.
“Every time I stepped foot in a new city in India, I felt an overwhelming sense of excitement and joy and the energy of the place,” he said. “And the warmth of the people made me feel truly alive and connected to the world.”
The 35-year-old globetrotter, who acquired a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad, moved to Germany in 2008 for higher studies. His passion for traveling grew while working in the auto motive sector in Frankfurt when he would take time off from his job to visit new places.
Hassan has backpacked through 80 countries across the world, with at least 15 of them on his motorbike, over the past decade. In 2019, he quit his job in Germany to take up vlogging full-time, which is now his passion and livelihood both.
“I [would] always say why not India because if you are living in Europe and you see every other traveler who is traveling through either through his motorcycle or cycle or even his car, they always tend to go toward Central Asia, Pakistan and India,” Hassan explained at Arab News’ office in Islamabad.
He recalled how his bike broke down in the neighboring country and led to a heartwarming response from the locals, who promptly arranged a mechanic and extended him an invitation to savor biryani — a hugely popular rice dish in India and Pakistan.
“They took my bike to the mechanic, bought all the accessories that we needed and then they invited me for biryani,” Hassan said.
“In Delhi there [was] one paralyzed guy who waited three hours to meet me and he told me that he cannot travel but now he just watches my videos and he feels like he is traveling,” the Pakistani globetrotter said.
In India, Hassan said, he witnessed a kind of “mutual love” and a “lot of respect” for the people living on both sides of the border. He also discovered a diverse range of regional delicacies, from the familiar cuisines of Maharashtra to the intriguing specialties of Gujarat, on the month-long journey.
“I have seen lot of food from Maharashtra like ‘misal pav’ or ‘vada pav,’ you always hear it in the movies,” he said. “In Gujarat, they have very funny names like ‘thepla,’ ‘phapda’ and they have ‘jalebi’ in the morning, in the breakfast, which I never had in Pakistan.”
The Indian people have huge appreciation for Pakistani culture that is reflected in their admiration for Pakistani drama serials, dresses and the desire to visit this side of the border, Hassan said, pointing to the irony of the two people being close in proximity yet distant in connection.
Ties between bitter rivals India and Pakistan stand frozen since August 5, 2019, when New Delhi revoked semi-autonomous status of the part of Kashmir it controls, dividing it into two federally administered territories.
The Muslim-majority Himalayan region has been a bone of contention between Pakistan and India since their independence from the British rule in 1947. Both neighbors rule parts of the Himalayan territory, but claim it in full and have fought two of their four wars over the disputed region.
“They (Indians) often say, ‘we love Pakistani culture,’ especially they love the Pakistani shows, the dramas, the dresses of Pakistan,” he said, adding that he often came across signboards in Indian markets that read “Pakistani dresses are available here.”
“So, I think, we are very unlucky that we are too near, but we are too far.”
Hussain plans on visiting India again, but this time the country’s northern areas.
“I always plan to do the trip in the north, to go [Indian-administered] Kashmir, Leh, Ladakh, Himachal, Spiti,” he said. “So, I am preparing for it if I got visa.”
