Sports & Music boosting Indo-Pak ties?

Even as relations between India and Pakistan continue to be strained, there is hope that interaction in the realms of sports and music could assuage the tensions. Only last year, the Pakistan men’s cricket team played India in a 50-over World Cup match at Ahmedabad, marking the first such pairing on Indian soil since 2011. But one can’t forget that Pakistan cricketers have been banned from the IPL since 2009 and that the last Indo-Pak Test match took place as far back as 2007. 

But now, Tennis might help facilitate the proverbial shaking of hands. In recent news, a 10-member Indian contingent of players and staff has flown into the Pakistan’s capital Islamabad. Yes, the two sides will face off in the World Group 1 tie of the international Davis Cup tournament on Feb 3-4. This playoff marks the first time in 60 years that the two sides are facing each other in tennis. The last such encounter took place in 1964, when Indian players Akhtar Ali, Premjit Lall and SP Mishra trumped the hosts 4-0.

In more encouraging news, the visiting Indian team has indicated that their hosts have been putting their best foot forward. “Having been here for 24 hours, I can say all is well,” said Anil Dhupar, official of the All Indian Tennis Association (AITA) to the Indian Express. “From the reception at the airport... to the 3-hour long practice we had today, the hospitality has been great”, Dhupar added. 

Local sports authorities have also accorded the visitors strict security cover - of the standard generally deployed for heads of state. This is a step up from 2019, when both sides could only agree to the neutral venue of Nur Sultan, Kazakhstan. Furthermore, recently, the Bridge card game has posed as the proverbial “bridge” between the two countries, when an Indian group hopped across the fence for a major tournament.

Sports aside, music has also proved to be quite the blending agent. After all, Bollywood songs are enthusiastically followed across Pakistan since Indian performers usually manage to hit the right notes. But now celebrated Pakistani composer-musician-vocalist Atif Aslam has been asked to lend his powerful voice to an Indian film production. Yes, film producer-brothers Haresh and Dharmesh Sangani will be tapping into Aslam’s talent for their upcoming film LSO90’s (Love Story of 90’s). 

The movie, which will include a hot romantic number by actor Adhyayan Suman and top pageant queen Divita Rai, will also feature Aslam's vocals. After all, the Pakistani singer song-writer left quite an impression back in 2008 with playback-recordings for the hit movies – Race and Kismat Konnection. This should bring a smile to the face of a certain Javed Akhtar. The legendary lyricist has repeatedly voiced his dismay that Indians and Pakistanis don’t perform enough for each other’s audiences. The Peshawar-born Hindi-film Idol Dilip Kumar (who changed his name from Mohammed Yusuf Khan) might also be clapping his hands in the world beyond. Indeed, between tennis shot-inducing grunts & cheers and heightened filmi music, India and Pakistan might have started to make the right noises.