Wagah Border Flag Ceremony

Border Crossing with Pakistan

A Geringer Global Travel India Tour could include Amitsar in Punjab. Besides visiting The Golden Temple, the Flag ceremony at Wagah Border is the other must do. There is a daily ceremony that takes place between India and Pakistan. You need to arrive early to catch all of the pre – ceremony events and to beat the crowds. Indians come by the thousands and the patriotism is overwhelming. The Indian side is colorful with Indians charging up to the border gate with the Indian flag, people dancing Bollywood style to Indian music and the abundance of colors from the saris is so beautiful.

The Pakistan side is pale in comparison. The women and men sit separately and there is no music or dancing. The men wear white dasdashas and the women wear black burkhas. When the ceremony is ready to start, everyone is requested to sit down and the gates open. The soldiers from both sides salute and a pomp and circumstance ceremony begins. The Indian soldiers who mostly come from Kashmir are over six feet tall. I have never seen such tall Indian men! At the end, the flags of each nation are lowered, the soldiers from each side salute each other and the gates slam shut. This was an unusual and colorful event not to be missed. However, I do not quite understand this ceremony especially given the political climate between these two countries. I mentioned this to an Indian I know. He said it is somewhat like the feelings the US and Russia had towards each other during the cold war. It is the governments and not the people. After everyone left, the gates open for an allotted time for trucks to pass through to deliver goods to the others country.