Seventeen months of wait, a host of denied permissions, and after having dealt with a severe bout of angst, it was a sweet reunion for 105-year-old Hajra Bibi from Pakistan with her niece, Hanifan, 60, at the Kaaba in the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, last week (Thursday).
The families, which was divided during the Partition in 1947, had made several previous attempts to meet, only to see their efforts come to a naught owing to a multitude of reasons.
It finally took a heart wrenching phone call in June last year, and a very gracious YouTuber from Pakistan, for Hajra Bibi to finally reunite with her niece in Mecca.
The families had made several attempts to meet at Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib — which is a visa-free border crossing connecting Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, in Pakistan, to Gurdwara Dera Baba Nanak, Gurdaspur, Punjab. However, they failed to obtain the necessary permissions every time.
Hanifan, who lives in Kapurthala in Punjab, had also applied for a visa from the Pakistani government to meet Hajra Bibi, which was subsequently denied.
In June last year, Hajra Bibi had for the first time made a video call to Hanifa. It was during the call that she asked to see her younger sister, Majeeda, only to learn that she had passed away some time ago. The news broke Hajra Bibi.