Amritsar lies just 30 km from Wagah Village, which is the only point along the entire 3,000km Indo-Pakistan border where it's possible to cross by road.
At sunset, each and every night, ceremonial soldiers from both sides of the border gather for the official closing ceremony. The ceremony is free to view and hugely popular with the spectators. Thousand of civilians on both side of the fence gather in the massive arena-style stands to watch this comical parade.
It's a phenomenal spectacle. It has the atmosphere of a football grand final, with music, singing, dancing, cheering, and loads of flag waving. Each side has an MC to really rev up their crowds. India's will shout "Hindustan!", to which the packed stadium replies "Zindabad!". Long live India, essentially.
And this is all before the official ceremony even starts...
The whole thing runs for about an hour, and both sides (dressed, bar colour, in identical peacock-inspired uniforms) essentially perform the whole ceremony in unison. There's lots of yelling, and each member of the ceremony squad takes his turn to charge at the open border, swinging his arms violently, and then pausing at the official line. Facing toward Pakistan, he then pulls his most aggressive don't-fuck-with-me pose. Well, it's supposed to look aggressive, but it's hard to look tough with a parrot strapped to your head.
The whole thing was scarily reminiscent of the infamous Zoolander walk off.
It all finally concludes with the lowering of the flags, which is done in perfect diplomatic unison.
If you're ever 'in the hood', definitely get down to see it. It's brilliantly entertaining, and a fascinating insight into Indo-Pak relations.
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