Happy Birthday FAB

This little birthday note was written to celebrate the birthday of Friendships Across Borders: Aao Dosti Karein which completed an year of its existence on February 14, 2015. I have the privilege of associating with FAB as a core team member and volunteer. This is an outpour of my feelings for what I think is more than just a portal that uses stories to spread the power of friendship. Visit our newly launched website www.friendshipsacrossborders.org

Happy Birthday, FAB!

By Nidhi Shendurnikar

Celebrated FAB's birthday with a yummy strawberry cake

When I write Happy Birthday today ... On Valentines Day ... A day that is meant to celebrate the spirit of love, I wonder whom am I actually conveying this wish to. It is not to an individual, not to a group. It is my sincere and warm wish to an idea. To that idea of friendship, the seed for which was sown by a very dear friend and my brother Chintan Girish Modi in Mumbai on February 14 exactly a year ago. Why did he choose this particular day to gift this idea to the world? I think it was because more than mere love, this day symbolizes a feeling of wanting to develop new bonds, forge new connections and let go off one's prejudices that one often holds against people. It was a unique idea that was launched this day last year because it defied the boundaries set by conventional ideas of love ... The love between two enemy nations, love between people who find it difficult to cross the border to meet each other, love between people who probably have never met each other and know that it will be a difficult task to meet in this lifetime. It was on February 14 that Friendships Across Borders: Aao Dosti Karein FAB) was born and I have had the fortune of associating with it since its inception. Today, on FAB's birthday I feel beam with pride and my conviction in the cause of India-Pakistan peace stands strengthened.

There are so many groups working for India-Pakistan peace. So what is new and unique about FAB? I was attracted to FAB because it was built around the premise of sharing stories. Stories of friendship, love and bonding between Indians and Pakistanis. Before being introduced to the idea of peace between India and Pakistan, it was difficult for me to accept the fact that Indians and Pakistanis could ever be friends, that they could share something as special as a friendship. How can two perpetual enemies be friends? All stereotypes, misconceptions and prejudices were to be gradually shattered as FAB entered into my life. There was something so special about it that one could not resist visiting the page and read about simple, ordinary but moving tales of friendships between Indians and Pakistanis. The best thing about FAB is its innovative streak and the fact that it does not attempt to be preachy about issues of peace. What is put forward as content is so delightful that reading it is an interesting exercise even for those who may be are not convinced about the idea of Indo-Pak friendship. Throughout the year, I have keenly followed all stories published on FAB and have seen the friendship community grow from strength to strength. Every time, I open up the FAB page, it inspires me through its novel approach to the idea of friendship. There is so much more to explore and learn each time, that I keep wanting more!

A simple idea, a simple thought can transform into something so productive and substantive with immense power for transformation. This is what FAB has done in the first year of its life. So much in love with FAB, I wrote a story about my friendship with my lifetime partner in peace ... Sehr Nisar, from Pakistan. This story has been read and appreciated by many, has been translated into Gujarati and Marathi and is waiting to be translated into many other languages. I felt there could be no apt forum to let the world know of my friendship with Sehr, than FAB. FAB will always remain special to me for many reasons, one being that I wrote my heart out about a friendship that I cherish.

While, personally I got to connect with FAB, academically as part of my doctoral thesis, I made an attempt to study its activities and content. Apart from being engaged in dissemination of friendship stories, FAB is also carrying out many on ground activities to address stereotypes. prejudices and hostilities. Any initiative can deliver results only if it is taken to people on the ground. FAB is doing exactly that and in the coming year, I dearly wish that its message spreads far and wide. 

With stories at the centre, the idea of user generated content is also exciting and will take a unique shape in times to come as more and more people join FAB and are actively contributing to its evolution. The personal and emotional connect that FAB offers is what makes it stand out. It encompasses personal, heart touching experiences which would be common place for people who have friends across the border. Forums like FAB are best for the younger lot in both countries seeking to engage with each other in ways apart from those offered by media, history text books and nationalist discourses. 

On this birthday, I wish for more and more young people to join this wonderful initiative, spread the power and love of friendship and share their stories on this forum. There is nothing more important than building and cherishing friendships in a world full of hostility and violence. Friendships are close to the heart. You feel you can lean back on them when you are drained, tired, distraught and dejected. I feel like I can lean back on FAB whenever I feel down and disillusioned by the hate, enmity and conflicts around me. I can drown myself in the power of friendship, be consumed by it and also inspire others to be a part of this process.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY FAB, wish you many more to come. Prosper, celebrate, flourish and spread peace :)