7.45 pm, evening before Id in India.
I (to a "Muslim" acquaintance): Kal ka kya plan hai?!
Acquaintance: Meeting friends, and then we will go out somewhere!
I: New clothes and all!
Acquaintance: Yes!! Hamare Kashmir mei to aaj hi Id mana liya gaya...
I: Woh kaise? Chaand dikhna chahiye na pehle?
Acquaintance: Pakistan mei already chaand dikh gaya na... To isssliye Kashmir mei mana liya gaya...
I: Ohhh!...
(A few seconds of silence. I am fiddling with my cellphone)
Acquaintance: To kahiye? Koi comment hai aapka iske baare mein?...
I: Comment kya hoga? Jo hai, so hai...
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In today's highly polarised atmosphere of "they" and "us", The Hindu and the Muslim series is a conscious effort to record, and dissect, "Hindu-Muslim encounters" (including the ones done by police) and look for patterns...
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