Separated by the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947 and not hearing from each other for 35 years, the two friends reunited in the United States in 1982 and reunited. They have continued to meet ever since. They reunited in October 2023, almost nine years after they last met. A heartwarming video of the two's reunion is currently trending on Instagram.
AG Shakeel, 90, and Suresh Kothari, 89, grew up in Deesa, Gujarat, according to NBC News. They were about 12 years old when they separated in 1947. In October 1947, Shakir and her family fled by boat to the emerging Pakistan in the middle of the night. At the time, Kothari was studying in Mumbai (then Bombay). ) and could not say goodbye to his friend.
The joyful reunion was captured on video by Kothari's 32-year-old granddaughter, Megan Kothari. Her Instagram page “Brown History” shared the video along with a note she posted.
The note said, “When his friend arrived in Pakistan in 1947, he wrote a letter to his grandfather that he had arrived in Rawalpindi and shared his address (my grandfather is still with me to this day. They tried to write to each other for years, but tensions between the two countries ultimately made it impossible. From 1948 to his 1982, the two had no contact until a chance encounter with a mutual friend in New York led to their re-opening. ”
She also spoke about their first reunion. “In 1982, a friend of my grandfather's who had moved to Connecticut heard that my grandfather was coming to New York and asked to pick him up at JFK Airport. He was so excited. It was our first reunion in 35 years. They spent the week together, catching up on life and reuniting after years of silence.”
The two will reunite for the first time in nearly nine years in October 2023, and will next meet again in April 2024 to celebrate Kothari's grandfather's 90th birthday in New Jersey.
Watch their sweet reunion video here:
This video was shared on Instagram 4 days ago. Since then, it has garnered over 1.8 million views, and that number is still growing. Furthermore, this share has been flooded with likes and comments from netizens.
Check out some comments here.
“May friendships and bonds not be defined by borders,” one person posted.
Another added: “That's beautiful.”
“This has made my day! I'm so happy. Tears are streaming down my face as he trots towards his friend. Thank you,” said a third.
A fourth person commented: “This is amazing!”
A fifth said: “It looks like they're holding hands.”
A sixth person also answered, “It's healthy.''
What do you think about this?
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