Kashmir: A perfect example of communal harmony has been displayed by a blind Kashmiri Pandit Chaman Lal and his Muslim friend Mohammad Anwar Mir.
Today, where people value materialistic pleasure over precious relations, there is no value for relations, be it blood relation or friendship. Friendship relations in these days is maintained conditionally, thinking that particular person will be of some help in the future. This is a fact which cannot be denied.
But, the special bond of friendship between Chaman Lal and Anwar Mir has set an example for all of us.
According to a story published in ‘Rising Kashmir’, Chaman Lal, a Kashmiri Pandit did not migrate to Jammu like other Hindus in 90s. He stayed there only in Zainapora village of South Kashmir’s Shopian district. Later, as years passed, Chaman Lal turned blind due to eye complications 30 years ago.
Since then, Muslims of Zainapora village had been helping Chaman Lal in his daily chores.
Chaman Lal shares a special bond of relationship with Anwar Mir. They both are friends since their youth hood. Chaman Lal cannot move around on his own, and he is helped by Anwar Mir who doesn’t live his friend alone and pays a daily visit to him every day for the past 30 years. Anwar Mir helps Chaman Lal in his daily chores and to take a stroll in the surroudings.
Anwar says that “I visit him every day. It is a routine for me. He (Lal) puts his arm on my shoulder and we take a stroll around the streets. The same streets and shop fronts where we used to discuss our future some four decades years ago.”
Chaman Lal says that he never felt insecure here. “I was not blind by birth…It happened some 30 years ago.”
He further says that “I am living in harmony with others. My friend is helping me here to move around. I was born here…I lived my life here and I will die here. Mir is always there in any kind of situation. If I have to go to a medical shop my friend helps me out. He is always there.”
The local residents are the witness to the heartwarming story of Anwar and Chaman Lal.
Aijaz Ahmad a local says that “It is purely an example that a friend in a need is a friend indeed.”