In the fires of the Air India tragedy, a friendship forged across India-Pakistan border

The most moving scene in Homer’s Iliad portrays not the clash of arms but the emotional devastation it leaves in its wake. King Priam, old and frail, enters the Greek camp and approaches Achilles, the killer of his son Hector. He kneels before his foe, clasps his hands and implores him: “Remember your own father”. And Achilles does. Moved to pity and grief, he agrees to return the Trojan prince’s body. Read more broadly, this depicts the power of grief to bring together not just enemies but strangers, across boundaries and distances.

That coming together can happen across continents, between people who have never met face to face. A report in this paper tells the story of a friendship forged in the fires of the Air India tragedy of June 12, 2025, which claimed the lives of 241 passengers. Savdhanbhai Chaudhary, a farmer in Gujarat, had lost both his son, Kamlesh, and his daughter-in-law, Dhapuben, in the crash. Omar Ali, Kamlesh’s Pakistani coworker at a fancy goods store in London was asked by their boss to reach out to Kamlesh’s family. He phoned Savdhanbhai, listened to his tears, and said he would call again. Now, Savdhanbhai and his wife Ratniben wait for Omar’s call at 3 pm every day. He asks about Savdhanbhai’s younger son, his lunch, and even his infected toenail.

The eve of the tragedy’s anniversary is an apt moment to reflect not only on causes and accountability but also on how the bereaved can put their lives back together. For at least one family, an unlikely friendship, born when sorrow met empathy, has been a source of strength. What it takes is for someone to keep asking, as Omar does daily, “Kaise ho aap?”