Barmer (Rajasthan): People living on the Indo-Pak border in Rajasthan are waiting for their long overdue New Year gift.
The train link between Munabao and Khokhrapar, to be operational by mid-January, has caught people's imagination in the tiny village located on the Indo-Pak border.
From songs of the local singers to the desert's favourite dessert, the train to Pakistan figures everywhere in the psyche of the people living in this village.
Desert singers have traditionally been singing about love, longing and faith for decades. Now they have another favourite theme - the one about revival of the railway link.
This link between India and Pakistan will re-open in 2006 after 40 years. But for locals, these last few weeks of waiting seem endless.
"The train which is to start would probably stop at Munabao, which is its first station. At least that's what the newspapers say. We hope it stops at Barmer before Jodhpur,” Jammat Khan, a folk singer, says.
At the Indo-Pak zero line where the security forces from both sides meet, the desert's favourite dessert - laddoos are being sent across the border.
"People in the forces on both the sides are our major customers. They value what we make and whenever there are meetings of the BSF rangers we supply the sweets on demand," Vasudev, a shopkeeper, says.
After forty years the Munabao railway station is bustling with activity once again - all set to connect the people divided by the border.
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