Eleven-year-old Nain Tara is like any girl of her age. She speaks, dresses up and plays the same games as kids around her. It is hard to tell that she is among the Pakistani students visiting India for Sanjh-2009.

Yashir, 14, does not feel any difference in the culture, language and lifestyle of the two countries. Playing cricket with Indian cricketers, he does not miss his home. Nain Tara’s elder sister Meeran says she has visited India more than five times and every time, she feels at home.

“The culture, the language, sights, sounds, smells and flavours are all the same. We share a common heritage, same history and hurdles like visa seem absolutely unnecessary to visit the country,” she says.

“When we have so much in common, why are we separated by borders,” says Nain Tara.

Mujtaba Tariq, another member of the group, says all the policies are made at the top level but the governments of both the countries do not realise that the people do not want the borders.”

Vaibhav Anand, a student of Spring Dale Senior School, says,”The students from Pakistan are so similar to us. I don’t find any difference when I interact with them.”

School Principal Rajiv Sharma urged the government to take steps to ensure that visa norms are relaxed.