Even as Pakistani singer Rahat Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan sang off-key this week, actress Shabana Azmi and lyricist husband Javed Akhtar went across the border with a group of 10 theatre artists includingu00a0 MS Sathyu, Rajendra Gupta and Lubna Arif on an invitation from the Faiz Foundation for the Faiz Ahmed Faiz Centennial.



Azmi had a tearful reunion with legendary Urdu poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz's daughters Salima and Moneeza Hashmi.
"Faiz is my favourite poet and even abba (writer-father Kaifi Azmi) accepted that. His completed works, Saare Sukhan Hamare accompanies wherever I go," says the veteran actress.

Azmi says Salima, Moneeza and she share a sisterhood of sorts thanks to a common heritage, having been raised as children of members of the Progressive Writers Movement.

Azmi crossed the Wagah border on foot. "Since I was shooting in Colombo, the fastest way of reaching Lahore was across the Wagah border. It was a first for me. To see India on one side and Pakistan on the other, with just a thin line separating the two countries, is overwhelming. Faiz's daughters were waiting on the other side, their arms outstretched with garlands of roses. Not a single eye was dry."

Azmi remembers how Faiz and her father struggled for social justice and empowerment of the underprivileged. "They dreamed of a harmonious world," she says.

Artists can only speak the language of peace since art knows no boundaries, says the actress. "In Lahore, we were welcomed with the warmth of Pakistani hospitality. I sang Faiz's poem, Bol. Javed read a paper on the PWA, and Ila Arun regaled them with Faiz sung in Rajasthani folk style. And we ate the best food in the world," she smiles.