Two well-known Pakistani photographers, Azhar Jafri and Rahat Dar, brought their work to India this week. The exhibition of 50 photographs, sponsored by the Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust (SAHMAT), opened in the Capital this morning. The photos record the rising fundamentalism, social disorder, child labour and sheer architectural grandeur, which is part of the vast repertoire of recurring images in the sub-continent.

Commenting on The Fall, Rahat says: ``There were also several temples which were saved from demolition by the people of Lahore.'' The pictures underline the fact that nothing really separates the two countries. Despite the Shiv Sena supremo's diatribe against Pakistanis and other politicians crying foul about anything and everything that goes wrong in Pakistan, there is more similarity than dissimilarity between the two.

The black-and-white photograph by Azhar Jafri titled At the Delhi Gate might have been Delhi but was in fact clicked at Lahore. Or, his Passive Smoking portrays the choking traffic pollution in Pakistan, something that everyone in Delhi can relate to. Khushwant Singh, who inaugurated the exhibition, said the show assumed greater significance when both countries are witnessing a rise in fundamentalist movements. Whether it is sectarian violence there or it's attacks on Christians here, does it matter where it happened but only that it did?

Reminiscing about his days in Lahore and also recounting the bitter memories of the Partition, Khushwant Singh said as India became Independent, the nation had hopes of erasing the Hindu-Muslim divide, a ``phenomenon'' created by the British colonial rulers. Fifty years on, both countries still suffer from the same evils. In this backdrop, such cross-border cultural activities will go a long way to generate trust on either side of the border. Azhar has been a photo-journalist for the past 29 years through his association with major newspapers and magazines like Musawat, Muslim, Viewpoint, The Dawn, AFP and The Herald.

Rahat, who now works for Lahore-based The News and is also the founding member of the Journalist Resource Centre of Lahore, has 20 years' experience working in Newsline, Viewpoint, Frontline Post and even Outlook (India). Here in India for the first time, both Azhar and Rahat have been overwhelmed by the ``love and affection'' shown by the people they have met here. Says Azhar: ``The intellectual level of the people here is far superior to that of those in Pakistan.'' The two photographers who brought ``images of Pakistan to India'' will now take back with them images of India. And possibly to try and cement the bond that continues to be threatened by ``fanatics'' on either side of the Wagha border.