Allah meets Bollywood on India-Pakistan border

By Alistair Scrutton

WAGAH, Pakistan-India border (Reuters) - Shouts of "The only superpower is Allah" rose to a crescendo as hundreds of bearded Pakistanis raised fists at Indians yards away.

Across the two countries' border, the Indians retaliated with their own trademark anthem -- loud Bollywood music.

Welcome to Wagah, one of the few border crossings at one of the world's nuclear flashpoints, a non-descript place a few miles from Lahore in eastern Pakistan.

Wagah has always been charged with symbolism. A daily ritual of confrontation here between uniformed, quick marching border guards has become a crowd puller - part nationalistic theatre, part showmanship and part exaggerated diplomacy.

On a recent trip I found a schizophrenic atmosphere at the border, where simple humane touches one hour mixed with patriotic fervour the next, reflecting how these two nuclear armed foes with a common heritage relate to each other.

India and Pakistan have fought three wars since 1947, but since a peace process started a few years ago there have been small steps to make the crossing easier.

So, with planes fully booked in mid-December, I opted to travel overland from New Delhi to the Reuters office in Islamabad.

Only 30-40 people a day cross the border, a lone road and a few buildings in Punjab's agricultural heartland. In India, my passport was quickly stamped. No one checked my bags.