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Letter From Attari
As trade, tourism evaporate amid India-Pakistan tensions, border residents fret over their next meal
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Mr Rajinder Singh used to take home around 500 rupees each day, dabbing his paints on tourists keen to show off their love for India.
ST PHOTO: DEBARSHI DASGUPTA
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ATTARI, Punjab – Mr Rajinder Singh applied well-rehearsed flowing strokes on my left wrist, one each for the three shades of the Indian tricolour – saffron, white and green – before completing the flag in a matter of seconds with a blue dot at the centre.
The paint dried equally fast on my skin in the hot summer temperature in Attari, a village in India’s Punjab state that is located on the border with Wagah in Pakistan.
