“I have a mentor across the border”: Story of Hussain Kamal (Pakistan) and Chandra Swati (India)

As part of our call to share about their friend(s) beyond the Indopak Border, Hussain Kamal from Pakistan shared about his friend Chandra Swati from India:

“I have a friend, rather a mentor, across the border, whose name is Chandra Swati. She is an Assistant Professor of English literature at the Delhi University. It is said that a good teacher can inspire hope, ignite the imagination, and instill a love of learning. So, i am proud to be her disciple . Although she hasn’t taught me anything by delivering lectures, but i learned many things from her through text messages. She corrects my sentences if I make any mistake while chatting. She is very kind. Our friendship is a symbol of true affection between a teacher and a student. I think the teaching profession contributes more to the future of our society, and in creating a bond across the border, than any other profession. God bless you Ma’am Chandra Swati. I am proud of you! Danyewaaad”

Now, here are my teacher’s views on me: “Well, we often we blame social networking sites like Facebook for wasting a lot of our time! But often, this thing called Facebook can be a sweet thing. It makes u meet friends across borders without any political hassles. Here I have a cute little friend- Hussain. He is from Pakistan. Pakistan , a country we aren’t on good terms with on the political front. But across the border, people are the same- like you and me. Same emotions, same curiosity. By the way, Hussain is not that young after all, yes, cute he is. He is a student of English literature. What more did I want, to be able to connect with him. In addition, he is an awesome stand-up comedian. I saw some of his videos. He is really funny and witty, has a good voice and can really make people laugh. He is what we say – ‘hasmukh’ in Hindi, which means he has a pleasing face, one look at him and you are all smiles. Good thing is he doesn’t mind me correcting his grammar every now and then.That shows he is a good student. I hope and believe that he is a good human as well. My best wishes are with him.”

Hope we have a great friendship in the times to come.

Amen”