MUMBAI, India: An emotional advertisement for Google’s search engine has become a hit in India and Pakistan by surprisingly invoking a searing and traumatic period in the shared history of the South Asian archrivals. Officially debuting on television Friday, the commercial already has been viewed more than 1.6 million times on YouTube.
“Reunion” portrays two childhood friends, now elderly men, who haven’t seen each other since they were separated by the 1947 partition that created India and Pakistan from the old British empire in South Asia. Partition sparked a mass exodus as millions of Muslims and Hindus fled across the new borders amid religious violence.
In the ad, one of the men reminisces to his granddaughter about his happy childhood in Lahore and how he used to steal sweets from a shop with his best friend, who the ad implies is Muslim. His granddaughter uses the search engine to track down the childhood friend in the Pakistani city. Then, with the help of the Pakistani man’s grandson, she arranges a journey to New Delhi for a surprise reunion.
The ad struck a cultural chord with Indians and Pakistanis.
“If it doesn’t move you, you’ve got a heart of stone,” wrote Beena Sarwar, a Pakistani journalist and part of the Aman ki Asha (Hope for Peace) initiative that promotes peace between Pakistan and India, on her blog.
It might seem a risky strategy to co-opt partition for a feel-good search engine advertisement. The period is one of the roots of the bitter animosity between Pakistan and India that has led to three wars, a nuclear arms race and deadly fighting in the disputed Kashmir region. Shortly after the partition, an estimated 1 million Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs were killed in rioting, and 12 million were uprooted from their homes.
Yet Abhijit Avasthi, head of the Ogilvy India team that developed the ad, said the fact that partition evokes strong feelings among Indians and Pakistanis is one of the reasons the idea was chosen.
“Yes, this is a sensitive topic, a part of history with bitter memories” he said. “But that was the whole point, which is to tell people that those memories are in the past, that there is a way to revive your connection with your lost ones.”
The spot also tapped into ordinary people’s weariness with the hostilities.
“I don’t see much hostility at the people’s level,” said Sanjay Mehta, a 48-year-old New Delhi-based businessman whose family is from what is now Pakistan.
But he added that traveling between the countries is not as easy as the ad portrays. “I want to visit Pakistan but it’s not easy to get a visa.”
Last year, India and Pakistan signed an agreement to make it easier for business travelers, senior citizens, divided families and religious pilgrims to get visas. However, improving ties have been set back by sporadic clashes in Kashmir.
Google’s India, Pakistan ‘Reunion’ ad goes viral
Google’s India, Pakistan ‘Reunion’ ad goes viral
Why some women choose Galentines over Valentines and how they might celebrate
- O’Sullivan is one of many women who find it empowering to focus on female friendship rather than relationship pressures
- Other ways to mark Galentine’s Day include going to a play, hiking, karaoke, playing cards or just having coffee
Christie O’Sullivan of Trinity, Florida, has spent 21 Valentine’s Days with her husband, but her favorite celebration was one spent with a girlfriend before she got married.
They took the day off work, got massages, and went out for cocktails and a fancy dinner.
“For me, it was 10 out of 10. That whole day was intentional,” said O’Sullivan. She remembers it as empowering “on a day that’s usually filled with pressure to be in a relationship, or sadness because I wasn’t currently in one.”
Galentine’s Day became a pop culture phenomenon with a 2010 episode of the TV comedy “Parks and Recreation” that celebrated female friendships around Valentine’s Day. Amy Poehler’s character, Leslie Knope, gathered her gal pals on Feb. 13.
“What’s Galentine’s Day? Oh, it’s only the best day of the year,” said Knope.
Honoring female friendships can happen any day of the year, of course. Whether on Feb. 13 or another day, here are some ways to create a fun-filled experience:
Making it a party
Chela Pappaccioli of Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, has been hosting a Galentine’s Day bash at her home for the last three years. She has a bartender and a DJ hired, and this year invited 45 of her nearest and dearest. So far, she has 34 confirmations, and is assembling gift bags for her guests to take home. There are no men allowed “unless the bartender happens to be male.”
The event may be extravagant, but Pappaccioli says it’s worth it.
“It’s an escape to just be with your girls, be silly, do something fun and just focus on the friendships you’ve created and enjoying each other’s company,” she says.
Learning how to do something new
Liz Momblanco of Berkley, Michigan, who describes herself as a “serial hobbyist,” invites her friends to take classes like cookie and cake decorating, calligraphy and stained glass.
“I enjoy learning something new and having a shared experience,” said Momblanco, who has attended day retreats for women that offer activities like floral arranging, yoga or a cold plunge.
Marney Wolf, who runs the retreat company Luna Wolf, says providing an opportunity for art and creativity builds community.
“It bonds you, whether it’s the smallest thing or really deep. You watch these grown women turn into almost like a childlike kindergarten response like, ‘Oh my gosh! Good job! You’re so talented!’ That little lift is the easiest thing to do,” she said.
Filling a Valentine’s void
Wolf takes care to schedule Galentine’s-themed retreats near Valentine’s Day because some women don’t have someone to spend Feb. 14 with.
“I know it can be a really lonely time for people and I think some take it for granted,” she says.
Pappaccioli said a couple of divorced friends come to her party, and “even if you’re married it can be depressing because your husband may not be doing what you want or your boyfriend may not support you in the way you want,” she says.
“It’s nice to know that you don’t need that. You can still celebrate the holiday, but turn it around a little bit and celebrate the relationships you want to.”
Creating different kinds of bonds
Galentine’s Day get-togethers can forge new friendships. And spending quality time with a friend provides an opportunity to put the phone away, avoid distractions and build memories.
O’Sullivan is a social media strategist for businesses but appreciates that her bestie Valentine’s Day was without cellphones.
“We could be fully present — no photos, no texts, no nothing,” she says.
“So while that means there’s no actual record of that day occurring, it also means the details became a core memory without it.”
Some celebrate Galentine’s Day by just going out for coffee or playing cards. You might go with a group of women friends to a play or museum, or take a hike or a workout class.
Other ideas include thrift store shopping, country line dancing, roller skating, karaoke, junk journaling, and getting manicures and pedicures.
